


The Castle of Lust

by Legal_Assassin



Series: The Trickster Called Shiori Amamiya [1]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bisexual Protagonist, Canon Rewrite, F/F, Female Protagonist, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-04-18 11:15:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14211948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legal_Assassin/pseuds/Legal_Assassin
Summary: After trying to do the right thing, Shiori Amamiya is charged with assault and forced to move to Tokyo for her probation and attend a new school. All she wants at first is to keep her head down, survive the year, and hope to put back together her ruined life. But visions of a blue room and a mysterious app appearing on her phone lead her to an alternate world where her new school is replaced by a castle ruled by a tyrannical teacher. And when she's forced into a corner, a power awakens within her that can change everything.Now Shiori -- operating under the code name Joker -- must lead fellow outcasts to steal their teacher's distorted desires and free their school.





	1. Prologue: The First Pieces

**Author's Note:**

> So this is something I've been wanting to do for awhile, but haven't had much time. I'm hoping to get chapter 3 up by this Saturday to commemorate the premier of the P5 animation. Each of the chapters will be released over the next few days, so chapter 1 will be up tomorrow and chapter 2 on Friday.
> 
> I've struggled with whether to do this or not since others have written a gender-swapped protagonist before and I wasn't sure if I could do a unique twist on it. But it's better to at least try, so here's hoping I do a fresh take on this.
> 
> With that said, here's the prologue.
> 
> (Series name is a reference to the Lupin III movie "The Woman Called Fujiko Mine.")

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING
> 
> This chapter contains references to torture.

I’m screwed. I don’t remember how I ended up here, but after being beaten, doused in cold water, sleep deprived, drugged, and threatened by men in black suits until I signed a confession, I know I’m screwed.

My thigh throbs in pain; one of the men ground his foot into it when I first refused to sign the confession. “I only need your arm to sign this,” he had said, a malicious glint in his eyes. “But I don’t care if you lose a leg. Don’t expect to walk out of here in one piece.” He had emphasized this by pressing his weight onto my leg, making me cry out. “We’re going to make you understand; one must take full responsibility for one’s actions.”

The disturbing part was that they didn’t seem to care about the cameras filming the abuse. So someone higher up was fine with all of this happening to a high school girl like me.

But why? What did I do? My head’s still foggy from the drugs. I don’t know how much time has passed since I came here. It feels like hours since the men in suits left, but I have no way to tell in this room. There are no windows or clocks; just blank walls and a table with two chairs, one of which I’m slumped in.

My head feels like a lead case stuffed with cotton and my eyelids are heavy. But whenever I shut my eyes longer than a few seconds, I feel a phantom splash of cold water and hear someone say “no dozing off now.”

There’s not much I can do except try to remember why I got brought here. But the drugs make it hard, like holding water in my hands. Maybe I should start with something easy, something to ground me. Facts. Start with facts. Start with things I know for certain.

My name is Shiori Amamiya. Right; that had been the only thing written on that confession. Easy enough. My parents’ names are Toshio and Miyuki. I don’t have any siblings. I’m going to be seventeen soon. Or am I already seventeen? What day is it, anyways...?

Focus, Shiori. Stay grounded. Facts only.

I’m a second-year at… Shujin Academy. Yeah, that’s right. I live in the town of… No, that’s not right. Shujin is in Tokyo, so that’s where I’m living right now. I’m on probation. Which is going to cause problems considering my current situation…

No. I can’t think on that now. I have to focus on recalling what I know. Facts only.

Why am I here?

A snippet from one of the men in suits plays in my head. “Obstruction of justice, breaking and entering, possession of weapons, defamation, blackmail…” A pause. “Manslaughter, too, huh? Talk about the works. To think these crimes were led by a little girl like you. And you seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

I enjoyed myself? Even the manslaughter? Why would I…?

Focus, Shiori. Stay focused. Facts.

Those crimes… I don’t remember doing most of them. But…

Right. That’s what I’m here for. I’m a Phantom Thief. No, I lead the group. Guess that really does make me a criminal. Even if we’re only helping people. We were finishing off a heist. I was on my own, trying to draw attention away from my team so they could get away. But there was an ambush waiting for me. Too many men to fight off or outrun. I was overwhelmed. One of them kneeled down next to me with a smug smile.

_"You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out."_

Someone betrayed me? Who...?

The door to the room opens. One of the men in suits, coming to continue the torture? Or are they planning something worse?

No, it’s a woman. Dressed in a suit, but dark gray and edged in lace, not black and plain. Red eyes which regard me sternly, but I don’t sense malicious intent from her like I did with my captors.

A name floats in my mind. I’ve met this woman before. Somewhere…

She takes the chair across from me as she frowns. “I didn’t think it’d be you,” she says. Then she straightens and puts on a neutral expression. “You’ll be answering my questions from now on.”

“Who…” My voice is hoarse from yelling; my throat is like sandpaper. I cough. “We’ve met before…” I focus on recalling the name. Something that began with an “S.” And related to someone I know. “Niijima-san?” Right. That was her name; Sae Niijima. From the Public Prosecutor's office.

Niijima’s gaze softens. “What happened to you?” She looks around the room and it hardens when it lands on a spot. I follow her gaze and spot the empty syringes lying on the floor. I fight back a whimper as I remember being held down -- hands like vice grips on my arms and wrists -- while a needle slid into my vein.

“Those bastards…” she hisses.

I let out a clipped laugh that sounds like a sob. “You're the good cop, then?” My words slur together. “Already got a visit from the bad ones. They got me softened up for you.”

Niijima turns back to me, her face composed and professional once more. “It looks like you can hear me and you’re coherent,” she says. “Good. I have questions for you and we don’t have much time.”

“Why should I answer?” I ask.

“I need a solid case to build off of,” she says. “Those men want the same thing, but you’ve already seen what they’ll do. Anything can happened in this room, and I can’t stop them. If you answer my questions, it’ll make things easier on you.”

Another huffy laugh escapes me. “Definitely good cop,” I say. “Better than the others.” When she says nothing – just watches me – I sigh. It’s not like I can do anything else in this room. “What do you want to know?”

“What was your objective as the Phantom Thieves?” Niijima asks. “Why did you cause such a major incident?”

I rub my forehead. “We wanted to help people,” I told her. “No grand scheme there.”

Niijima sighs. “Alright. Let’s try something else then. Your methods. How do you change someone’s heart? I’ve read through the case file and I still can’t make sense of it.”

“Of course you couldn’t,” I say.

Niijima pauses in thought. “Tell me what happened, then,” she said. “I want to hear your full account of what happened.”

“All of it…?” I ask. “I don’t know if… the drugs are…”

“I understand,” Niijima coaxes me. “But this is the only time we’ll be able to talk like this and I only have a short while. Start at the beginning. How did you find out about that other world?”

Should I tell her? I might end up incriminating myself and the others. But I need to remember… and there’s something nagging at me in the back of my head. Telling me that I’ve forgotten something important. About the traitor?

My eyes flutter close for a moment before I pinch the back of my hand. It does the trick.

Niijima and the room fade away and I feel like I’m in a void. The drugs’ side-effect, maybe?

A glowing blue butterfly flutters across my line of sight. Something about it is familiar.

“You are held captive,” a young girl’s voice echoes through the void. “A prisoner of fate to a future sealed in advance.” I swear I’ve heard the voice somewhere before, too. “This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may be a possibility open for you. I beg you… please overcome this game… and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memories of your bonds – the truth you and your friends grasped…”

The butterfly fades away. “For the sake of your world’s future, as well as your own… you must remember…” The voice fades away as well.

“Amamiya-san? Are you still with me?”

I blink and both the room and Niijima come back into focus. She watches me with concern.

“If you can’t recall anything, there isn’t a point in my being here,” she says. “I need you to concentrate.”

“Right…” I nod. “From the beginning… I got this.”

I have to have this. I must remember how I got here and what important thing I’ve forgotten. And I don’t need the voice to tell me that my life is on the line if I fail this; the threats from the men in suits are enough. Although, if that voice is correct, the fate of the world might depend on this, too…

How’s that for motivation?

“It all started in April. I’d just gotten off the train to Shibuya and was looking for the train to Yongen-Jaya…”


	2. Chapter 1: No Good Deed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiori moves into Tokyo. Strange things happen to her along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for how late this is; I got a cold earlier this week and it was really bad today.
> 
> Also, Warning for attempted assault in this chapter during Shiori's flashback.

Tokyo was a mass of contradictions. Old shrines fit between sleek modern buildings, men in business suits walked the same streets as teens in bright, gaudy outfits, the aroma of cooked food mixed with the stench of car exhaust, and for all the people around me, I’d never felt more alone. I was farther from home than I’d ever been before. And not one soul in this city knew me.

Navigating around Shibuya was a hassle. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, so I couldn’t stop someone long enough to ask for directions to the train to Yongen-Jaya. Instead, I had to resort to using the newly-installed navigation app on my phone, keeping my eyes on the screen and on the street at the same time. Mom would be chewing me out for not taking in the sights if she saw me like this.

I’d only been here for an hour or two and I was already homesick.  _Not now,_ I thought.  _There'll be time for that later. Just get to Yongen-Jaya._

According to the app, I needed to take the Denentoshi line, which was somewhere in Station Square. I looked up from my phone to look for a sign or something that could point me in the right direction, but what I saw stopped me in my tracks.

The square was crowded. No; that wasn’t a strong enough word. It was filled to the brim with people moving about, a bee hive magnified a hundred times. There were probably more people in this space alone than there were in my hometown. They walked and talked, filling the square with buzzing. The buildings around the square stretched up into the sky like a fence around a stock yard.

 _And this is what I’ll have to live with for the next year_ , I thought. My stomach rolled. If just one part of Tokyo was like this, how would I be able to find anything here? How would I get around without being swallowed up by this mass, never to be seen again?

I swallowed. I'd get through this, somehow. I had to. I promised my parents as much. I just had to break it down so I wouldn't get overwhelmed. So the first thing was to get to Yongen.

As I stepped back to get a better look around, a man from behind shoulder-checked me and pushed me forward. “Hey!” I cried out, but I didn’t even get an apology. I scowled in his direction. “Jerk.” I muttered, then looked back down at my phone.

There was something covering up the map. It was a red square with a black logo that looked like an eye. I tapped at it, but it wouldn’t move. “Don’t tell me I got a virus…” I groaned and tapped at it harder. “Whatever you are, go away!”

It took me a moment to realize that it had become dead quiet. I looked up to find out why.

Everyone in the square had stopped moving. Not only the people, but there were a couple birds above that were frozen mid-flight. And to my left a dropped ice cream cone hovered in mid-air.

No way this could be a prank. But if it wasn’t, then what was going on?

There was a flicker of movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face the source.

A bright blue fire blazed in the center of the square. The flames reached high up to the sky, but I couldn’t smell anything burning. At the base was a dark shape that must’ve been a person, but I couldn’t make out much about them from this distance.

I maneuvered through the frozen crowd as quickly as I could. The person didn’t seem to be in pain, but I still had to make sure they were alright. If they were even still alive.

When I got close to the fire, it changed shape. Arms with clawed fingers, a lanky torso, horns curved high up, and wings outstretched. Orange eyes and a grinning mouth that looked like they were slashed open.

The person at the base stepped out from the flames, grinning wickedly at me.

It was me.

And in a blink of an eye, the world started again.

I was right back where I stood when everything froze. The square was filled with movement and sound again. Birds flew off into the sky and a child cried. But I was still frozen in place.

What just happened? I looked back down at my phone’s screen. The icon was still there. Whatever had happened, it started with this thing. Did it use some kind of hypnosis or was it a new kind of AR? In any case, it needed to go. It gave me trouble and the last thing I needed was more trouble. I dragged it and this time it moved to the trash can and got deleted.

But what I had experienced wouldn’t go away. Once I was on the Denentoshi line, my mind went to what happened, especially the other me. It was uncanny how much she looked like me, from the face to the clothes. She could’ve been a reflection in the mirror if it weren’t for the eyes – bright yellow instead of black and no glasses to hide behind (just like me before I was arrested) – and that smile… it had been months since I really smiled, but it never looked like that. Not so… vicious.

_“I just never thought you were so violent, Shiori-chan.”_

My jaw clenched as I recalled those words from Asuka, a fellow drama club member and my best friend. _Former best friend_ , I corrected myself. She had made it clear in our last conversation that she wanted nothing more to do with me, just like the rest of the club, the school, and the town.

I didn't want to dwell on it anymore, so I tried reading the news on the train to take my mind off of it. But most of it was concerning the “psychotic breakdown” that had led to a bus crashing the other day. Which meant that instead of remembering Asuka, I kept imagining gruesome scenarios where I got hit by a bus while walking down a sidewalk.

Considering my luck the past few months, it wouldn’t be a surprise.

It was a relief when the train finally pulled into Yongen-Jaya. When I stepped out of the train station, I was greeted with a more familiar sight. Buildings close together and smaller than the others Tokyo has to offer. Individual or small groups of people milling about. The smell of dinner cooking. The streets were narrow, the buildings were packed tightly together, and the sounds of the city could still be heard in the distance. But the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya looked the most like home.

After asking a disgruntled officer for directions, I found my destination; the home of Sojiro Sakura, the man I would be staying with for the following year. It was a modest-sized gated house, traditional Japanese-styled. I rang the doorbell and waited by the gate. When no one answered at first, I didn’t get worried. He was probably in the bathroom or was in the middle of something important. No clue what; my parents didn’t tell me much about Sakura-san when they told me I’d be staying with him for the following year. Only that he was retired and knew a friend of theirs.

When about five minutes passed, I rang the doorbell again. Was he alright? If he was retired, he might’ve been old or injured enough to cause complications. Maybe he tripped and fell on the way to the door and couldn’t get up? But I couldn’t just enter the house; I’d get hit with a charge for breaking and entering no matter my intentions.

Just as I was about to ring the doorbell again (because what else could I do?), a man asked “You looking for Sakura-san?” A delivery man stood by the gate, a package in hand. “He’s usually at Café Leblanc around this time,” he told me. “It’s not too far from here. Just head back to the street and turn right at the second intersection. You can’t miss it.”

“Oh, thanks.” I followed his directions and found the café, though I almost passed it despite the delivery man’s assurance. The only sign of it was the café’s name on the awning over the door.

A bell rang as I opened the door and the rich aroma of coffee and... curry?... wafted out, mixed with the stench of cigarettes. The café’s interior was old-fashioned, with a bar and three booths set up on opposite sides. The shelves behind the bar were stocked with jars filled with coffee beans. The barstools, counter, and floorboards were made of a dark wood and there was just enough lighting to give the space a cozy feel.

There were three people inside the café. Two of them, an elderly couple, were seated at the middle booth, their attention fixed on the TV mounted on the wall playing the news (a story about the bus accident I read about on the train). The third was a man in his late middle age seated at the bar. Unlike the couple he was ignoring the TV; he was focused on a newspaper and muttering something about shellfish before taking a drag on a cigarette. His dark hair was starting to grey and was pulled back into a short, tight ponytail while his beard and side burns were neatly trimmed. A pair of round spectacles were perched on his nose. Judging by the stripped apron over his clothes, he was probably an employee or the owner.

He looked up when the bell rang and climbed out of his seat. "Yes? Can I help you?" He asked. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't scowling or glaring either.

“Umm…” I fiddled with my bag strap for a moment. “Are you Sojiro Sakura? I stopped by your house, but you weren’t there. My parents said you’d be taking care of me.”

The man’s eyes widened a little. Then he turned and put out his cigarette in an ash tray. “Right. They did say it was today.” When he faced me again, any surprise from before was swiftly hidden. “I’m Sojiro Sakura. So you’re the Amamiyas’ kid?”

I nodded. “My name’s Shiori Amamiya.” Then, not wanting to look ungrateful or rude, I gave a small bow. “Umm… thank you for taking me in.”

The couple got up from their seats. “We’ll be going now,” the man said. “The money’s on the table. It's a good thing this shop's in the alleyway. No need to worry about runaway buses here.”

"Hmm?" Sakura-san frowned at the couple.

"There was a bus crash earlier today," the woman said. "Something happened with the driver."

"That?" he scratched the back of his neck. "I wasn't paying attention to it."

The man chuckled. "Well. We'll be seeing you later, Boss."

Sakura-san just grunted in acknowledgement. But as soon as the couple went out the door he grumbled “Four hours just for a single cup of coffee.” He then looked back at me. “I gotta admit… when I was told that I’d be looking after a kid on probation, I didn’t think it’d be someone like you.” He shook his head. “Well, not that it matters anyways. Let’s get you settled in.” Instead of going to the door like I expected, he headed for the staircase at the far end of the café. “Your room’s upstairs. Let’s get this done quick before any customers show up.”

I blinked but followed. When I was told I’d be staying with Sakura-san, I thought I’d be living under his roof, not in a café. But I wasn’t in much of a position to argue.

“So… there’s been a lot of talk about accidents going on,” I said, looking for a neutral topic to connect on. “The bus accident today was one of them. Something about psychotic breakdowns.”

“It’s none of my business,” Sakura-san said curtly.

Well… that wasn’t what I expected. And apparently my parents didn’t even bother to tell him my name or send him a photo of me. Or maybe he forgot or misplaced that info. Already I was getting a bad feeling about the year to come.

But I didn’t say anything about that. Instead, I followed Sakura-san up the stairs to the room I’d be staying in.

“Room,” it turned out, was inaccurate. What faced me was the entire attic twice the size of my bedroom back home. And it was full of junk cluttering the floor and shelves. Thick cobwebs hung from the rafters and the floor was caked in grime. A sofa and end table on the side were covered in a layer of dust so thick I couldn’t tell what color they were. In a far corner was a desk covered in stacks of old books and a plastic sheet and opposite of it was a couple of futons stacked on some milk crates that I guessed were supposed to be my bed with some sheets folded neatly on top. Dirty windows overlooked the backstreets of Yongen. The only thing that looked remotely clean was a cardboard box containing my belongings sitting in the middle of the floor. On top of it were some packages that contained my school uniforms, I was sure.

“This is where you’ll be staying,” Sakura-san told me. “I at least got some sheets for your bed. There’s also a bathhouse and laundry facility across from here. There’s some money put aside for keeping you and your clothes clean, but if you want extra you’ll have to pay for it yourself. Same goes for food; you're responsible for your own groceries, but there's an allowance for you each month.”

I just nodded absently and stared at the attic. “It’s… big,” was all I could say. Better than bringing up the fact that I was supposed to stay in the same place he’d been stashing junk and anything else he didn’t want to deal with.

Sakura-san pulled out a cigarette, but didn’t light it yet. “It’ll be on you to clean it up,” he said. “Just put the junk over here,” he patted the table by the stairs, “and I’ll get it moved out so you won’t have to deal with it.”

I nodded again. There was a minute of awkward silence before he spoke again. “Your parents gave me the gist of what happened. You protected a woman from some guy, he got injured and sued you, and now you have an assault charge on your record. Then you got expelled from your school and the courts ordered you to attend school here. That about right?” Once I nodded, he grunted. “That’s what you get for sticking your nose into adults’ business. You did injure him, yeah? And you shouldn’t have put yourself in danger like that, either. You’re lucky the guy didn’t do anything worse.”

As he scolded me, I kept my eyes on the ground and my shoulders hunched. I’d been expecting something like this – it was the same spiel I got from my parents, my teachers, my probation officer, and even my friends, if they were still that – but it didn’t take the sting out of it.

Sakura-san headed for the stairs while pointing to the shelves behind him. “Cleaning supplies are right there. Try not to disturb any customers.”

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled, avoiding eye contact. Once he was gone, I got to work.

The box with my clothes got wedged into an empty space on the shelf by the stairs. My uniforms and school bag went into the box as well. Then I started clearing the junk away.

There were mostly stacks of old books, but among the junk was an old bike and a potted plant. The plant looked dead at first glance, but when I went to move it I noticed there was still some green. “You’re still holding on, huh?” I asked. “Under these circumstances, that’s admirable.” I considered for a moment, then moved it to the side. “It’d be a shame to throw you out after all you’ve been through. Just need to get you some water and sunlight, maybe some nutrients, too. It’ll be nice to have something to brighten up this place. Besides, I could use someone to talk to who doesn’t keep telling me that this is what I deserve for being a no-good criminal.”

The plant said nothing.

“Guess we have a deal, then. I promise I’ll get those nutrients as soon as possible,” I said, my mouth curving up a little. I almost expected my face to crack at that moment with how long I’d gone without smiling.

I went back to cleaning, but after a minute I couldn’t stand the silence. “Sakura-san said I was interfering with ‘adults’ business’… But I never considered that at the time.” I sighed. “And even if I did… I couldn’t just let it go…”

~*~

It had been almost two months ago, near the beginning of spring. I was heading home early when I heard a woman’s voice cry out “Stop!”

I turned and headed towards the voice as I got closer I heard a man snarl “Get in the car!”

“Stop it!” The woman cried. “Let me go! I-I’ll call the police!”

“That’s all?” There was a bark of ugly laughter. “Go ahead. The police are my bitches! They won’t listen to a word you say! Now get in!”

I got closer. There was a man and a woman by a parked black car. The woman had long hair and wore a buttoned blouse that was coming open under the man’s hands. He wore a suit and a pair of glasses and his head was bald. It was all I could make out with how dark it was.

The woman tried to pull away, but the man’s fingers dug into her arms and made her cry out. “Incompetent fools like you should just do as you’re told and let me steer this country as I please.” There was a slur in the man’s words; he was probably drunk.

The woman looked over the man’s shoulder and her wide eyes spotted me. “Please! Help me!”

The man glanced over at me. “This is none of your business, brat,” he spat. “Get out of my sight.” As soon as he spoke, police sirens went off in the distance. He turned his attention back to the woman. “Looks like someone called the cops. See? This is because you’re too damn slow.”

I had to do something fast. If I ignored this, there was no telling what would happen to the woman. All I had to do was keep that man from forcing her into the car and wait until the police got here.

With only a short time to act, I charged up to the man, grabbed his arm, and pulled. “Let her go or—”

The man growled and grabbed my wrist. His grip was tight enough to make me gasp. “You don’t know who you’re crossing, little girl. I can wreck your life with one—”

My other hand flailed. I had only meant to shove him off, or at least stagger him enough for me and the woman to escape.

Instead, my nails scratched across his cheek, leaving jagged red slashes on his skin.

The man yelped, let go of my wrist, and stumbled back. He tripped over his own feet and fell to the sidewalk.

I panted and stared at my hands. There was blood and skin caked under the neatly-trimmed and painted nails on the hand that lashed out. Some part of my brain that was disconnected from everything thought the blood and the manicure didn't belong together.

The man grunted and pushed himself up. One hand covered half of his face – the side I scratched him on – and his uncovered eye glared at me with naked malice. “Damn bitch!” he spat. “I’ll sue!”

The woman had stepped behind me as this was going on, putting me between her and the attacker. She whimpered as the man got up on his feet and staggered forward. “Don’t come any closer!” she shouted.

“You think that little brat can protect you?” The man sneered. “She won’t even be able to protect herself once I’m through!”

“I’ll tell the police about the money if you keep this up!” The woman yelled back. "Do you want that?!"

“All I’ll have to say is that you did it and it’ll all be over for you.”

The woman choked. “N-No… I was just doing as I was told…”

In the darkness, I was able to make out a white car with flashing red and blue lights approaching. “The police are coming,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’ll have a lot to explain for yourself.”

“You shut up!” The man snapped. “You’re finished.” He looked past me at the woman. “Hey. Tell this to the police. This girl attacked me.”

“Why would I –”

“Do you know what happens to people who cross me?” he growled. “Want to end up like them? It would just take one word from me, even from a jail cell.”

The woman went silent. When I looked at her she was looking down at the ground. Her face had lost all color and she was trembling.

Two police officers arrived on the scene quickly. The older officer looked between the three of us. “Alright, folks,” he said. “What happened here?”

“That man was trying to force this woman into a car,” I told him, pointing to the man. “I was just trying to stop him and—”

“I see,” the officer said, then turned to the man. “Well, sir? What happened?” he asked.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open as the officer dismissed me. Shouldn’t one of them have my statement written down? Or at least acknowledged what I said? That was what the police were supposed to do, right?

A pit formed in my stomach as the man looked over at the woman.

“Go on,” he said. “Tell the good officer what happened.” There was enough force in his voice to end the sentence with “or else.”

I turned to the woman with a pleading gaze.

Her head hung low and her slouched posture looked like a dog that had been beaten down. “This young woman…” she said, her voice flat. “…attacked this gentleman. She pushed him down and scratched at his face. I don’t know why she did it...”

My face grew cold as the blood drained from it. I felt like I had been knocked off balance even though I was still standing.

“It’s just as she said,” the man said.

“Alright, then,” the officer nodded. “We’ll take care of this.” His partner started walking towards me.

“Keep my name out of the report,” the man told the officer. “An incident like this is an inconvenience for me.”

“Of course, sir,” the officer said. He joined his partner. “You there. You’re under arrest. Come with us.” It was like a hammer meeting a gavel.

“B-But…” I stammered. “It wasn’t… I didn’t…” I turned to the woman and shouted “Tell them the truth!”

The woman said nothing and refused to meet my eyes as handcuffs were snapped over my wrists and I was led to the police car.

~*~

I flexed my fingers to alleviate the stiffness after carrying a stack. Then I stopped and looked at them. I liked having my nails a little long. It seemed more elegant to me, and I liked how they looked when they were manicured and painted up.

It was still so strange to see them plain and the fingertips behind them.

Dad was the one who insisted on keeping them short. “Just so something like that doesn’t happen again,” he had said. So I cut them to the tips a week before I left for Tokyo. It made cleaning the attic easier, but still…

“It seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” I told the plant. “But after everything that’s happened, I’m starting to wonder if I might have made a mistake. Everyone tells me I did, anyways.”

No response.

“Well, you don’t. But all you have to worry about is getting enough nutrients to grow, so it doesn’t affect you. I appreciate the thought, though.”

I left the plant alone and returned to cleaning. Once all the junk was cleared away, I dusted the rafters and shelves, wiped down the windows and surfaces, and scrubbed the floor. It was monotonous work, but it kept my mind off everything else.

Footsteps came up the stairs as I smoothed the sheets over my bed. Sakura-san scanned the room, eyebrows raised.

"You were actually cleaning up?” he asks. “I heard noise up here, but I didn’t think you’d be tidying this place up.”

 _What else would I be doing?_ I thought. “You did say it was on me to keep this place clean,” I said instead.

"I figured you would just leave it be and I’d have to pick up the slack,” Sakura-san rubbed the back of his neck. He glanced over at the junk pile. “I can take care of that. You should get cleaned up before going to bed.”

“I can still help—” I grabbed one of the stacks of books.

Sakura-san snatched them out of my hands. “I said I’d take care of it,” he said sharply.

I stood back with my hands up.

He sighed. “I’m not that old. I can handle this part myself. Besides, we’re going to Shujin Academy tomorrow to introduce you to the staff. We’ll have to leave early to avoid traffic, so there won’t be any time for you to take a bath in the morning.”

“Oh, right.” I had almost forgotten about that. “Then I’ll do that.” I searched through the box for my pajamas and toiletries.

“Just so you know, the bathhouse charges entry,” Sakura-san pulls out a few bills and hands them to me before heading down the stairs with me at his heels. “This should cover a shower. If you want to take a bath, it’ll have to come out of your pocket. Oh, and one last thing.” He stops and turns to me. “I’ll be locking up the café every night, so don’t cause any trouble. If I find anything broken or missing down here, I won’t hesitate to kick you out.”

“Understood,” I said. I was about to head out the door before I realized something and turned back. “Please don’t throw out the plant. I’m going to take care of it.”

He frowned, but didn't say anything other than “Alright."

I cleaned up quickly at the bathhouse; spending the whole afternoon cleaning the attic had left me drained and dirty. I thought about paying extra for a bath, but decided not to. Maybe at the end of the week I could treat myself.

I returned to the café as soon as Sakura-san had finished cleaning. He reminded me not to mess with anything downstairs and to be up early tomorrow before going out the door and locking it behind him. Though it wasn’t loud, it was like a cell door slamming shut.

I trudged up the stairs and stopped. The attic had been transformed. Now that all the junk was gone and everything was cleaned, it looked a lot bigger. And emptier. Aside from the dying plant, there was only bare furniture here.

“It’s like a prison cell up here,” I muttered. “Then again, this is supposed to be probation. Have to remind the criminal what’ll happen if she messes up again.”

I flopped onto my bed and let out a sigh. If Mom knew where I was staying…

“Ah, right,” I fished my phone out. “I should let her know I arrived,” Between cleaning the attic and adjusting to my surroundings, it had slipped my mind.

I opened my phone’s menu and stared.

The app from before was back. It pulsed, the eye staring back at me.

“I thought I got rid of you,” I muttered. I clicked and dragged it to the trash can to delete it again. But instead, it grew and took up my screen again. I growled and tapped it again to move it, but it didn't do anything.

The logo was oddly mesmerizing. The eye looked like it was staring back at me, but I couldn't look away from it. My eyelids grew heavier as I watched it pulse on my phone screen, until I closed them just for a moment.

And in that moment, I sensed something had changed.

My eyes snapped open. There were a couple things I noticed then. First, the bed I was lying on was a flat, unyielding board. There were no blankets or sheets on it.

Second, I was not in the attic. The room I was in was a cramped, bare space. Along with the cot I was on, there was only a metal toilet in the room. The walls were deep blue and padded, with chains and manacles hanging from them. The air was cold and had a chemical smell, like it had been cleaned recently.

My stomach churned. Third, this was a prison cell.

I sat up and swung my legs over the side of the cot. The sound of metal clinking accompanied the action and it was then that I saw the heavy shackles encasing my wrists. Fourth, my pajamas were gone. In their place was a set of prison clothes, the classic black-and-white ensemble. They were worn, torn, and stained in several places.

“What on Earth…?” I whispered.

“So you’ve finally come to, Inmate!” A young girl’s voice jeered. It sounded sharp and hard. “It's about time! We don’t have all day, you know!”

“Time is limited, Inmate,” another girl’s voice said. It sounded a little like the other, but softer and more controlled. “Stand up and come over here.”

Both voices came from beyond the cell door, with heavy chains crossed over the bars. I pondered whether to approach or not for a moment before getting up. There wasn’t much else I could do and whoever was holding me here had the upper hand.

As I walked toward the door, a chain dragged along the floor. I glanced down and found a shackle around one of my ankles, the chain connecting it to a heavy metal ball.

Chains on the door, heavy shackles, and even an honest-to-God ball-and-chain. These were too excessive for someone like me.

I reached the cell door and peered between the bars and chains.

Standing before me were two young girls. Twins. Both had platinum blond hair and a gold eye each, the other covered by a black eye patch embroidered with a stylized “V.” Both wore blue prison guard uniforms: blue button-up shirts, thin black ties, black shorts, black gloves, black stockings and shoes, and blue caps. The twin on the right wore her hair in two tight buns on opposite ends of her head. Her eye patch covered her right eye. She held a baton in one hand, casually but visible, and regarded me with a smirk. The one on the left wore a neutral expression, her eye patch covering her left eye. Her hair was pulled into a braid trailing down to her waist and she held a clipboard under her arm.

“You’re in the presence of our master!” the girl on the right barked. “Stand up straight!”

“Our master wants a word with you,” the girl on the left said. “It will be in your best interest to listen.”

The two girls marched aside like curtains parting.

Behind them was a large, circular room. Cells like mine – minus the chains – lined the walls, each with a Roman numeral over it. The floor was made of grey stones and in the middle was a blue and gold emblem I couldn’t make out from here. In the center of it sat a sturdy wooden desk.

And seated at it was the most bizarre-looking man I’d ever seen.

He had long, spindly limbs and a hunched torso covered in a nice black suit, complete with a handkerchief in the front pocket. His mostly bald head had tufts of grey hair sprouting out of the sides of his head and around his long, pointed ears. The strangest feature of his, however, was his nose. It was at least a meter long, stretching out and down and tapering to a point. And then there was his face. His eyes were wide and round under thick bushy eyebrows, his shrunken pupils giving him an intense look. It didn’t help that his mouth was stretched into a wide toothy grin.

I fought back a sudden urge to retreat.

He held out a gloved hand. “Trickster,” he greeted. His voice was deep and he emphasized each syllable. “Welcome to my Velvet Room.”

I swallowed. “There’s been a mistake,” I said. My voice got louder. “Whatever you're holding me here for, I didn’t—”

The girl on the right swung her baton at the bars. It sparked against them and forced me to jump back with a yelp. “Pipe down, Inmate!” she snapped.

The man’s smile didn’t wane. “I can assure you there are no mistakes here, Shiori Amamiya,” he said. “It was my full intention to bring you here.”

“Bring…?” I inched back to the door while keeping an eye on the baton girl. “I was asleep in an attic. How did you bring me here?”

“Your body is fast asleep in the real world,” the girl on the left said. “Our master has summoned you here within your dreams.”

“This place exists between dream and reality. Mind and matter,” the man said. “It is a place only those with a contract may enter.” He leaned forward. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Igor, the master of this place. The girls you see before you are my assistants and your wardens. To your left is Justine. And to your right is Caroline.”

“Time is growing short,” Justine said. “And there is still much to discuss.”

“Got that, Inmate?” Caroline asked. “Now no more interruptions.”

I looked between the three of them. Given the place looking like a prison and Caroline’s obvious hostility, I didn’t want to hear them out. But it didn’t look like I had a choice. Unless I tried to wake myself up…

Pinching the back of my hand did nothing. Caroline rolled her eye at that and Justine shook her head. Igor made no comment.

“I have brought you here to speak of important matters,” he said. “It concerns your life as well.”

“My life…?” I asked. “What about it?”

“Ruin is coming for you,” Igor said. “If you are not strong enough to face it, your existence will be forfeit.” Despite his grave warning, he continued grinning. “It is the reason you have been summoned here as a guest.”

“’Guest?’” I ask. “Don’t you mean ‘prisoner?’” I gestured to around the room.

“Ah. You speak of the appearance of this place,” Igor said. He looked around. “It is quite unusual, I will admit. The Velvet Room’s appearance reflects the heart of its guest. For it to appear as such…” he paused to chuckle. “You truly are a prisoner of fate.”

My throat went dry. “It’s… because of me?” I whispered. It was true that I thought of myself as a prisoner. I even thought of the attic as a cell. But for it to go this far…

Igor spoke again, snapping me out of my thoughts. “At this rate you will surely succumb to ruin. In order to avoid such a fate, you must be rehabilitated. Rehabilitated towards freedom.”

“Rehabilitated?” I repeated.

Igor rested his chin on one hand. “Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortions of this world?” he asked.

“Wait, what?” I shook my head. “Why are you changing the subject all the sudden?”

“Hmm… you didn’t deny it. That’s enough of an answer.”

 _No it isn’t!_ I thought, but with Caroline and her baton standing not far from me I decided not to push it.

“That resolve will be required of you to evade ruin,” Igor said. “But before we can begin your rehabilitation, you must first enter a contract. Without it, you will surely fail.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a bell similar to a fire alarm rang.

“And our discussion has concluded for the moment,” Igor said. “We will next meet once you have completed this first task. It should not prove difficult for you.”

“W-Wait!” I grabbed the bars. “You haven’t told me anything! What’s going on?!”

“It is time,” Justine said. “Be a good girl and go back to sleep.”

“And stop deleting our master’s gift!” Caroline snapped. “You’re going to need it for your rehabilitation, Inmate!”

My eyes widened. “Deleted? You mean… that app—”

And then in a moment, my surroundings changed again. The rafters of Leblanc’s attic hung above me and the obnoxious ringing of my phone’s alarm filled the air. My arms were stretched up in the air, grasping at bars that were no longer before me.

I let my arms fall to my sides. Was it just a dream? It felt so real, though. I could still feel the shackles’ phantom touch on my wrists and ankle.

I got up and silenced the phone’s alarm. It went back to the main menu. The app was still there, waiting. If my guess was right, this was the “gift” from Igor. On the bright side, now I could rest easy knowing that my phone didn’t get infected with malware. Instead, I could worry about strange dream men with long noses and creepy smiles hacking my phone to “rehabilitate” me.

And a vague ruin coming down on me, too. Couldn’t forget that.

“Not if you won’t be straight with me,” I muttered as I dragged the app to the trash can again. This time it felt cathartic; Igor and the twins couldn’t reach me here and stop me.

I rubbed my wrists and got up from bed to get ready for the day. The unease from the dream still hung over me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was weird typing "Sakura-san" instead of "Sojiro," but I don't think Shiori would address him that way even in her head at this point. And It'd be weird to call him Sakura.


	3. Chapter 2: The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiori goes to her new school, but ends up in a castle instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m SO sorry about this late update. A lot happened to me these past few months and I’ve been trying to deal with them while working on this story. I’ve also been working on chapter 3 whenever I got the chance, so hopefully it should be up sooner than this one.

"So to clarify, you arrived in Tokyo on April 9th. Correct?" Niijima asks.

"That's what I just said," I tell her. "Why are you asking?"

She leans forward. "On April 10th, there was a train accident. The conductor had gone through what the public is calling a 'psychotic breakdown.' And you mentioned hearing about a bus accident that was similar."

I frown. "Where are you going with this?"

"Shujin Academy: an ordinary prep school in Tokyo," she explains. "That's what it was supposed to be, anyways. But not only was it the site of a psychotic breakdown, it was also where the Phantom Thieves made their first appearance." She fixates on me with an unnerving stare. "Tell me... on those days, were you still an ordinary high school student?"

"Are you implying that we were behind the psychotic breakdowns?" I ask.

"That's the angle we're going with at the moment," Niijima says. "And given how little we know of your methods, there's nothing so far that suggests you couldn't have done it."

I sigh. She has a point. "Then let me tell you how we found out about that other world."

"Very well," Niijima says. "Then continue."

I nod.  _Focus, Shiori..._

~*~

After sliding my glasses on, I examined my reflection.

I had never been a flashy dresser, but I hadn't been plain either. My uniform was always customized in some way, whether it was buttons pinned to my collar or a cardigan over my blouse. I'd also wear some makeup, usually some lip gloss and mascara along with painting my nails. While I wasn't head-turning gorgeous, I was pretty and I enjoyed it. That wasn't something I was ashamed to admit.

Looking in the mirror inside Leblanc's restroom was like staring at a stranger. My face was clean, the bulky frames of my glasses magnified and softened my eyes, and my uniform -- a white turtleneck, a black ribbon, a black blazer with red buttons and Shujin's emblem on the left breast, and a red plaid skirt with suspenders -- had no alterations and I wore it exactly as intended with black stockings and school-issued shoes. The blazer hung loosely on my body, hiding my curves. The only bit of make-up I used was to cover up the bags under my eyes so I didn't look like a corpse with how pale I was. I looked more like a studious school girl than myself. Which, considering the point was to convince everyone that I wasn't a menace and cared about reforming, was a plus, I guess.

The only thing that broke that illusion was my hair, the one thing about me I could never convince myself to like or even reconcile with. Mom said my hair was wavy, but wavy was supposed to be romantic and rippling in the wind, not sitting on my head like a frizzy black mess. Each strand curled in whatever direction it pleased and most of it stuck away from my head. There was no taming it, and the one time I tried to straighten it I looked like Sunako from "The Box" and scared my poor classmates before the humidity made it turn back into its usual tangled self.

_"But your hair is so nice and fluffy, Shiori-chan. Why would you do that to it?"_

Asuka again... That had been the first time anyone said something nice about my hair.

I gritted my teeth. Now wasn't the time to dwell on those memories.

I tried pulling it back into a ponytail, but it didn't look that much better. So I divided it and braided each side as tightly as I could. It looked better and fit with the image of a studious school girl, but there were still strands poking out around my head, from the ends of the pigtails, and even through the tight braiding. It would have to do for now.

There was a knock at the door. "You done yet?" Sakura-san asked.

"Yeah. I'll be out in a second," I took one last glance in the mirror to make sure everything looked good before leaving the restroom.

Sakura-san gave me a pointed look. "Couldn't you at least comb your hair?"

"I did," I told him. "This is the best I can do with it."

He huffed. "Fine. Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can open the café."

I just nodded and followed him outside where his car was parked. We got in and drove out of Yongen-Jaya.

The ride from the café to Shujin wasn't too long and was uneventful. There wasn't any conversation between me or Sakura-san either, aside from him muttering to himself that it was weird having a girl my age in the front seat. I just stared out the window and watched the buildings and people pass by. The news on the radio was the only sound in the car; it was something about politics I tuned out.

Not long after arriving in Aoyama-Itchome, I spotted the school. Shujin Academy was a sleek, modern building that looked like a bunch of boxes made of smooth white material and glass put together. Between it and its gates were well-kept lawns and planters with various shrubs and flowers. Aside from the greenery, it looked more like a prison than a school.

And it was the only place willing to take in a student with a criminal record on short notice. That was the only thing I couldn't wrap my head around.

Sakura-san parked the car in a lot by the school and we headed inside.

The interior of the building at least looked a bit more familiar. The walls were the same as the outside, but the floor was a dark wood that, while scratched, was so polished it could've worked as a mirror. We passed the shoe lockers and a closed booth that must've been the school store. Bulletin boards and posters decorated the walls. Since it was Sunday, there were almost no students to be seen in the halls and no sound except my footsteps and Sakura-san's. The emptiness felt at odds with the school environment.

"Sakura-san? Amamiya-san?"

A woman waved us over by the stairs. I figured that she was a teacher, though she looked young for one. Her hair looked like she just rolled out of bed and there were bags under her eyes that were barely covered by make-up.

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami," she said as we approached. "Please follow me to Principal Kobayakawa's office. We all have a lot on our plates, so the sooner this is wrapped up the better."

"Likewise," Sakura-san grumbled and we followed Kawakami to the principal's office.

It was a small room made even smaller by the gigantic desk and the trophy case dominating an entire wall. And yet the bald man behind the desk, despite his wide girth, seemed dwarfed by the room. Maybe it was his lack of height or his lack of neck, like his head had been stuck right onto his torso.

Kawakami moved to stand beside the principal as he regarded Sakura-san and me. He reserved the stern look for me.

"Sakura-san. Amamiya-san," he said. "First, allow me to welcome you to Shujin Academy and thank you for making time out of your busy schedule." His eyes were on Sakura-san as he said the last part. "There's just some paperwork to take care of to complete your enrollment. Sakura-san, if you would please do so while I speak with Amamiya?"

"Fine," Sakura-san took a pen offered by the principal and began filling forms.

The principal looked back at me. "Now, Amamiya," he said. "You understand that you will be expelled immediately if you cause any trouble, correct?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded, keeping my eyes down.

The principal grunted in acknowledgement. "I'll admit I had some reservations about accepting someone like you as a student here," he said. "But there were some... extenuating circumstances on our end. Behave yourself while you're here and there should be no problems."

"Understood."

Kawakami handed me a booklet and two cards. "Here's the school rules, your student ID, and the train pass," she explained. "The train pass will only cover travel on the Denentoshi and Ginza lines so you won't have to pay to go to school and back. If you want to go anywhere else, you'll have to pay out of your pocket. And if you break any of the school rules, I won't be able to help you." She turned to the principal. "That is your promise, right Principal Kobayakawa?"

"That is correct. She will be held responsible for all her actions." He looked back at me. "You'll be in Kawakami-san's class, so don't give her any trouble."

Kawakami sighed. "Why my class, sir? Wouldn't a male teacher be better suited?"

"It was a sudden transfer and your class was the only one with an opening," the principal explained with a sheepish look. "There shouldn't be any problems as long as Amamiya behaves herself. If not, it falls on her head."

"But still..."

Sakura-san cleared his throat. "If that's all, can we go?" he asked brusquely. "The paperwork's all filled out and I have a café to run."

"Of course, Sakura-san," the principal said. "Please, keep a close eye on her."

Kawakami gathered up the finished paper work. "Amamiya, meet me in the faculty office tomorrow before class," she told me. "Don't be late, okay?"

"I won't," I mumbled, then followed Sakura-san out of the office. As soon as the door closed, I heard the principal and Kawakami continue their argument.

Sakura-san snorted. "They're already treating you like a criminal. Guess that's what it means to have a record." He headed for the stairs. "Let's go before traffic gets worse. I don't want to sit in traffic for hours and I doubt you do, either."

I followed after, but glanced back at the office. "If I'm this much trouble, why would they let me enroll here in the first place?" I muttered.

"Probably because it's a risk-free way to improve their reputation," Sakura-san said. "If you get through your probation with no problems, they can take credit for reforming you. And if not they won't get the blame."

I sighed. It made sense, but the truth still stung. Ever since I was arrested, all people have done is tell me how much I screwed up or how I have to be careful from now on or my future would be forfeit. Now it looked like the few adults who showed any interest were doing it to get something they wanted. With that thought crossing my mind, I eyed Sakura-san. "What about you? Why did you take me in?" I asked

He rubbed the back of his head. "A customer of mine mentioned that his friends had a kid who was on probation and needed someone to stay with. I agreed to it before I could think too much on it," he said. "I've already been paid for it, anyways."

"Oh... money... I see..." I looked down at the ground. Then on reflex I said "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different from someone like you."

"... don't lag behind," was all Sakura-san said. When I raised my gaze from the ground, I noticed that his jaw was clenched tight.

Neither of us said anything on the way back to his car or the drive back to the café.

~*~

The distance between Shujin and Café Leblanc wasn't that big, but thanks to the traffic it ended up taking nearly the whole day. Sakura-san was grumbling about the waste of a Sunday as we walked inside; he had already made it clear to me that I'd be taking the train to school from now on. Which wouldn't have phased me at all if that hadn't been followed up by a news report about a train crashing. The conductor had what everyone was calling a “mental shutdown” and a lot of people had gotten hurt in the ensuing accident.

I was heading up to the attic when Sakura-san said "Hold on a moment." I turned to him as he held out a book with a blank black cover. "I'm supposed to report to your probation officer twice a month," he explained. "But it'd be a pain in the ass to keep asking you. So just keep a record of your daily activities in this."

I took the journal from him.

"You've got a year on probation ahead of you," he said. "Just keep your head down and stay out of trouble and it should blow over."

"Mm-hm," I nodded.

"Alright. I'm locking up for the night." As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang. "Hello?" As the person on the other end spoke, he smiled. "Yeah, I'm just closing up for the day. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time." His voice was more gentle. "...Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." He hung up and turned back to me. "The rest of the night is yours. Just don't stay up too late; I won't look after you if you get sick. Oh, and don't mess around with anything downstairs. If I find anything missing, I'll hand you over to the cops." And like that, his sharp tone was back.

"Understood," I trudged up the stairs to the attic as the café door was shut and locked behind me.

Once I was upstairs, I dug through my bag for a bowl of instant noodles and prepared it. As I waited for the noodles to cook, I wrote my first entry in my journal: _Introduced myself at Shujin Academy. Train accident today. Schedule must have been affected. Should leave early tomorrow to get to school on time._

"There. That's done," I tossed the journal onto the table. Then I looked across the room at the plant. "So... I found out why Shujin allowed me to enroll. Apparently I might boost their reputation if my probation goes well. Sakura-san also took me in for money." I sighed. "Adults like my parents and teachers keep saying how kids like me are selfish... but it looks like adults are a selfish bunch as well."

My roommate said nothing.

"Well... you don't ask for much, at least. Just some sunshine and water. Ah, speaking of which..." I ran downstairs to get a glass of water for the plant. "Sakura-san can't complain if this is all I do with a cup. The plant nutrients will have to wait, though. I've got to settle in to school tomorrow and the train schedule is going to be messed up after today's accident, so I won't have much time afterwards to shop. The day after for sure, though."

No response.

I smiled a little. I almost expected my face to hurt after not doing it for so long. "At least you're understanding." The noodles were done by this point, so I started eating them. "Maybe I can get some other stuff so I won't be eating instant stuff all the time, too. I've never cooked outside of home ec, though. And... nothing I've made there was successful. I even overcooked rice once, believe it or not. I was so focused on watching this cute guy, Ito-kun, in my class. He was cutting up vegetables like a pro -- his family owned a restaurant, you see -- and I just started imagining the things he could make and how he'd be a great husband one day and before I knew it the pot with the rice was boiling over." I laughed a little. "Our teacher was kind of old-fashioned and wanted us to know how to cook rice without a cooker, but after that incident she said I should just stick to using one."

Silence.

My smile faded. "I saw her after my arrest. She wouldn't even stop to speak to me; she just hurried off to the other side of the street. Before then she would keep asking me how much my cooking had improved. That time... she acted like I was a completely different person." I ate a few noodles, but barely tasted them. "Everyone tells me if I just behave myself things will go back to normal. But I don't know if that's true..." I stopped eating and just started stirring the noodles around. "And what if something like before comes up? Sakura-san said I should just keep my head down and stay out of trouble, but I don't know if I can do that even if it means more bad things happening to me..."

Still nothing.

I didn't feel hungry anymore. I tossed the noodles in the trash. "Sorry... it's not you..." I said to the plant. "I just... wish I could talk with someone who can answer me. Someone who won't keep telling me how much I screwed my life up..." I sighed. "The most I can hope for is to make friends at school. But to do that, I'd have to keep it secret..."

I didn't want to keep bottling it up. I wanted to vent to someone who would listen. Someone who would understand that I was just trying to do what I thought was the right thing.

 _"I'm sorry, Shiori,"_   Dad had told me after the court hearing.  _"It's just the way the world is. I wish you didn't have to learn it like this."_ He had looked at me with pity when he said that. There had been something else in his eyes, like the remains of a fire that burnt out long ago.

Was that what growing up meant? Accepting the world as a cruel place that will crush you if you stand up, looking out only for your own self-interest, keeping your head down and taking your place in society? The more I thought of it, the less I liked the idea of becoming an adult. But no matter how I felt, it was inevitable. I couldn't stop myself from growing up and having to take those responsibilities. There was only one way out of it I could see, and I didn't want to even think about it.

So instead I settled back onto my bed and pulled out my phone to look up train schedules and plan around the delays. However I felt now wouldn't be an excuse if I was late.

That app was back on my phone; I wasn't as surprised as before, but I still deleted it before checking schedules and picking out the best times for me. Then I set an alarm and settled into bed.

Sleep didn't come easy that night. But at least I didn't get any more dreams.

~*~

After waking up and getting dressed as quickly as possible, I headed downstairs. My plan was to take the train to Shibuya, grab something to eat for breakfast at the bakery by the Ginza line, then get to Shujin. But as I reached for the handle to the door, Sakura-san called out "hold on a second."

He had a plate in his hand that he was ladling curry onto. "At least let me feed you before you head off," he said, placing the plate down onto the counter with a glass of water.

"Oh..." I walked back to the counter and took a seat. "I didn't think you were going to feed me." I also decided not to say anything about eating curry for breakfast; I didn't want to jeopardize Sakura-san's goodwill and it was better than buying a bun at the bakery.

"I'm supposed to take care of you, right?" Sakura-san said. "Of course I'm going to feed you. Now hurry up and finish it before customers arrive."

I spooned some curry and rice together and took a bite. It lasted longer than I planned; the curry didn't taste like any I ever had before. There was some spiciness like I expected, but there was also something bitter and something sweet, then something mellow. A whole host of flavors woven together into one spoonful. I found myself chewing slowly, letting it coat my tongue and mouth, trying to get a beat on each one and savor it.

"Hey, you're taking your time with it," Sakura-san said.

I swallowed. "S-Sorry. It's really good." I ate the curry a little faster, trying to find a balance between finishing quickly without wolfing it down.

"I'd hope so. It's one of the things this café is best known for." There was a hint of a smile on his face. It was the closest he'd come to being friendly to me.

Once I finished breakfast, I got up and reached for my plate before Sakura-san picked it up. "I can wash it before I go," I said.

Sakura-san waved me off. "Even if this place got busy early, washing a plate isn't going to take that long," he said. "You should worry about getting to school on time. Just flip the sign on the door to 'open' before going, alright?"

"If you say so." I bowed. "Thank you for the meal." As I went out the door I heard him say something about manners.

Maybe it was the curry or the hint at Sakura-san's softer side, but I left for school in higher spirits than I had the past few months. Even the infamously crowded trains and the switch from the Denentoshi line to the Ginza line couldn't bring me down. I almost didn't notice the girls by the exit to Aoyama-Itchome; they were dressed in Shujin's uniform and whispering. One of them kept sneaking glances at me. Was there something on my face or clothes? I checked myself over using my phone's camera and found nothing wrong. Oh, well. It wasn't that important and it was only a few students. 

My good mood didn't last long. As I stepped out of the train station, I was met with rain steadily falling from the sky. I rushed for the nearest awning and watched the rain pelt the pavement and people below and scatter the cherry blossom petals from the nearby trees, cursing myself for forgetting my umbrella at this time of the year. School wasn't going to start that soon, so I could wait it out and see if it would let up.

In the meantime, I checked my phone. The app was still there. I glared at it, trying to think of a way to get rid of it since deleting it and resetting my phone didn’t do anything. Would I have to exorcise my phone or something?

As the minutes ticked by, though, the rain didn't get any lighter. Other Shujin students ran by while one girl ducked under the same awning as me. Instead of the school-issued turtleneck, she wore a white hoodie with red and blue designs and a four-leaf clover on the hood. She had the hood up to cover her head, but once she was out of the rain she pulled it down.

I had to catch my breath at the sight of her.

The girl shook her twin tails out from the hoodie. They were light blond, thick, and wavy. The kind fingers could run through without snagging on tangles. It didn't look dyed, either. She had fair skin with enough color in her cheeks and lips to give her a radiant glow and her features -- from her nose to her jaw to her cheekbones -- were fine without being delicate. Her round eyes were the same color as a clear sky. And even with her clothes on I could see the prominent curves of her breasts and hips, as well as her long legs clad in red tights and tall laced-up boots.

She didn't seem like she should be a high school student. It would've been more natural to see her on the cover of a magazine wearing the latest fashion or walking down a runway in a glamorous gown or starring in a movie. And yet here she was, standing next to me out of the rain.

It wasn't until she looked over at me with a frown that I realized I was staring. My face heated up and I had to duck my head. "Sorry..." I mumbled. "I didn't mean to be rude..."

She smiled and my heart thumped against my chest. “It’s alright,” she said. Her eyes flickered up to a spot above my eyes. “Hey... you got a petal in your hair...”

And before I could say anything, she reached out and her slender fingers grabbed something from my hair. My face felt like it was on fire.

”Sorry, it was bugging me,” the girl said.

I remembered how to talk. “O-Oh, thanks,” I said. “I would’ve looked pretty silly on my first day, huh?”

”First day?” She looked down at the pin on my blazer. “So you’re—“

A car horn honked. We both looked over at the street.

A red car was parked by the side. The window rolled down and a man with thick, curly hair and a square jawline poked his head out. “You ladies are gonna be late if you stay there,” he called with a friendly smile. “Need a lift?”

”Oh! Sure!” The girl ran to the passenger’s side and got in.

The man looked at me. “How about you? You want a ride?”

It was tempting. He must’ve been a teacher or a friend of the girl’s, so there probably wasn’t any danger. But I had turned into a stuttering wreck (with no doubt a tomato-red face) just being next to the girl. If I rode with her, I’d die from embarrassment. “No, I’m fine.”

”Suit yourself,” the man said. He rolled up the car’s window, but I caught a glimpse of the girl’s face first. She was frowning, her eyebrows knitted together and her gaze aimed away from the driver.

I thought about going to check on her, but the car pulled away before I could do anything. And then a boy ran up, glared at the retreating vehicle, and snarled “Dammit! Screw that pervy teacher!”

“Pervy teacher...?” I asked.

My phone beeped.

The boy turned to me. The first thing I noticed about him was his hair; he had dyed it bright yellow and it stuck out around his head like a dandelion blossom. And then there were his clothes; he wore Shujin’s blazer and pants, but underneath was a logo tee as bright as his hair, the suspenders hung loosely at his hips, and his pants legs were rolled up to his ankles to show off his sneakers. His shoulders were hunched and his knees were bent as though he was getting ready to pounce. As if all of these didn’t scream “trouble” loud enough, his glare had been redirected at me.

”What?” He sneered. “You gonna rat me out to Kamoshida, too?”

”Who’s Kamoshida?” I wasn’t too worried about this guy. We were in broad daylight with other people nearby, so if he tried anything there was bound to be someone who would stop him.

Even so, I couldn’t help but tighten my grip on my bag when he stepped closer and shoved his hands into his pockets.

”Uh... the guy in the car,” he said. I half-expected him to add a “duh” at the end. “He’s a teacher at our school. How do you not know who he is?”

”Today’s my first day at Shujin,” I told him. “I don’t know any of the teachers aside from Kawakami.”

”That so?” His scowl vanished as he glanced at my pin. “You’re a second year, huh? So you’re the transfer student everyone’s talking ‘bout?”

“Is it that newsworthy?” I asked. Back in my hometown, it would’ve caused a stir. But in Tokyo? With this many people? I knew I wouldn't be able to remember anyone's name or face.

”School doesn’t get that many transfers,” he said. “And people have been talkin’...” He studied me for a moment. “So... is it true?”

I glared at him. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, like I was an exhibit at a zoo. “Is what true?”

The boy waved it off. “Eh... not like I care either way,” he said. He peered out at the rain. “It doesn't look half bad now. May as well get going now before we're late. Oh, and word of advice, new girl; avoid Kamoshida.”

”Why? What’s so bad about him?” I asked. He didn’t seem that bad when I met him. But the girl from before flashed in my mind. She seemed uneasy even though she accepted a ride from him. Was he really...?

The boy snorted. “I could go on all day, but to start that asshole acts like he’s the king of the castle.”

I was about to ask him to elaborate when a voice from my phone said “beginning navigation.” And then I felt a sensation similar to when I cleared water from my ears, but on a larger scale and in my brain. Enough that I winced and clasped a hand to my head and waited for it to pass.

When it was over, I looked around to see if anything froze like before. Everything and everyone was still moving, though.

”The hell was that...?” the boy muttered, rubbing his head. When I shrugged, he let out a huff. “Dammit, I wanna go home...”

Despite that declaration, he started trudging towards an alley that I knew led to Shujin. I followed close behind after putting my phone away.

The rain was letting up a little, at least, though there were still puddles around. I stepped through one that was still shallow. It wasn’t forceful, but the water rose up around my foot.

I stared down. The splash from the puddle was bigger than it should have been and it was slowly descending. And it was bright pink.

”What...?” I whispered.

”The fuck?!” The boy yelled ahead.

I ran after him to see what he was yelling about and stopped.

And stared.

We were outside where the school should have been, but it was nowhere to be seen. Instead, behind the gates loomed a giant Western castle, complete with turrets and towers. The sky above was blood red, as well.

”Wha... What happened to our school!?” the boy asked. “Is this some kind of prank?!”

”It’s way too elaborate to be a prank,” I said.

”So?! You got any better ideas ‘bout what happened?!” He snapped.

I didn’t. As far-fetched as that was, it was paradoxically the most logical reason for this.

The boy headed for the castle’s massive front doors. “We’d better find out what’s going on,” he said.

That seemed like the best idea, so I followed after. As I did, I pulled out my phone to check the map and see if we made a wrong turn. That app’s logo took up the whole screen. Was all this it’s doing? It didn’t do this before. Then again, I didn’t know much about it aside from it being from some guy from a weird dream. And that it was supposed to help “rehabilitate” me. By making me hallucinate?

The boy pushed the doors open and we stepped inside. The interior was what I expected of a castle like this. Stone floor with a plush red carpet on top, sweeping staircases, thick red curtains hanging from the walls, and an elegant chandelier hanging above. I blinked and for a moment I could’ve sworn I saw the entrance-way of Shujin Academy.

”You’re seein’ this too, right?” the boy asked. He stared all around us. “Did we take a wrong turn?”

”I don’t think so,” I said. Even though I hadn’t been in Tokyo before this week, I was sure that a castle like this wouldn’t go unnoticed by anyone. I never read anything about this when I was getting ready to go, and I would’ve seen it yesterday if it was there. And the sign outside had said "Shujin Academy."

But what other explanations were there? Anything rational was disproved by logic. The only thing I could come up with was that the boy and I were sharing a hallucination.

Metal clanking broke me out of my thoughts.

A man in a suit of gleaming armor approached the boy and me. His face was covered by an expressionless blue mask and he held a hefty shield in front of him. He was also taller than either of us.

”Nice costume, man,” the boy said. He went up to the man casually. “Hey, do you know where we are? We’re lookin’ for our school, Shujin Academy. It’s supposed to be here somewhere...”

It was then that I noticed the blade in the man’s other hand. And that he held it pointed to the boy and me.

”Hey. Maybe we should...” I started to say before the man advanced on us.

”Two intruders in the front hall!” the man shouted. His voice was distorted like he was speaking underwater. “I need reinforcements here!”

”What?! Intruders?!” the boy yelled. “The hell are you talkin’ about?! We ain’t—“

There was more metal clanking. More guards on their way.

”Shit, they ain’t going to listen,” the boy said. “Let’s get outta here!”

We made a break for the front gates as three more guards entered the hall. One of them intercepted the boy and slammed their shield onto his back. He cried out and fell to the ground. I turned on my heel to get him, but another guard grabbed my arm. “Let go of me!” I yelled. “We didn’t do anything!”

”You think these two are working with that cat burglar from before?” the guard holding me asked.

”It doesn’t matter,” the guard who knocked the boy down said. “Just take them to the dungeons.”

The guard’s grip on my arm was a vise. No matter how much I pulled, I couldn’t get free.

”What about the girl?” my captor asked.

”The king will decide what to do with them both,” the other guard said. “For now, throw them in an empty cell.”

”Yes, sir.” Without letting go of me, the guard grabbed the boy by the collar and dragged both of us down a hallway to the right and down a set of stairs leading into dark and cold.

I dragged my feet, pulled, pleaded, and yelled, but nothing could stop the guard. His hand just gripped my arm harder and he hauled me up when I fell.

The squeezing hold on my arm and the scrape on my knee only made my fear grow. Because whatever this nightmare was, it wasn’t a dream I would wake up from or a hallucination I would snap out of. It was all real, and I had no idea what was going to happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, starting from the next chapter on, there will be a lot of implications of and attempted rape. Given the storyline Persona 5 starts with and that the protagonist is female, it shouldn't be much of a surprise. But I felt it fair for readers to know.
> 
> Also, sorry if Shiori is a downer. I imagined her starting the story off somewhat depressed and defeated after all the crap that's happened to her before she awakens to her powers and comes to an epiphany about the world (It's kinda the same way I play the protagonist whenever I play P5). She'll get better as the story goes on.


	4. Chapter 3: The Soul of Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiori wakes up in a cell again, faces a tyrant king, and finds her resolve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!
> 
> This chapter contains threats of rape.
> 
> So... yeah. Six months. Not the worst gap, but still yikes.
> 
> There was a lot of crap that happened that I don't want to dump on anyone. All I'll say is that I'm working on getting stuff taken care of so I can get this done. I'm hoping to have at least the first half of the series done before the next year is over. Ideally, I'd like to wrap up the whole series, but there's another series I wanna write and a bunch of one-shots I want to finish up, too. So that isn't going to happen.
> 
> With that said, here's the next chapter!

Niijima stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “An app on your phone,” she repeats. “That’s how you entered this other world?” I nod and she continues. “And on top of that, the school turned into a castle?”

”It didn’t actually turn into anything,” I explain. “That’s just how the school appeared.”

She shakes her head. “Did the drugs they give you mess with your head?” she asks.

”It’s the truth,” I tell her. “Just as I remember.”

”Then maybe the drugs aren’t the problem.” She checks her watch. “So if you were an ordinary high school student when you arrived in Tokyo like you claimed, does that mean that you became a Phantom Thief after entering that other world?”

_Flames licking my skin, blood dripping down my face, laughter from a voice both my own and not._

_Focus, Shiori..._

”I became something...” is all I say.

It’s enough for Niijima. “Alright. Continue your story.”

I nod. “The guards dragged me and the boy to the dungeons. I fought to get away, but I must have passed out somewhere along the way. The next thing I knew, I was in a prison cell...”

~*~

”...ey...”

The sound rattled in my head. I groaned. I just wanted to stay in the dark and the quiet, but that sound was dragging me out. Then the void I was in shook.

”Hey! Wake up!”

My eyes fluttered open. Everything looked blurry, like I was underwater. I blinked until my sight cleared.

The blond boy was leaning over me with a concerned frown. His hands were on my shoulders, but he let go and stood back when my eyes opened. “Hey, you alright?”

My head felt light. Every time I moved it, even a little, my vision spun. “A little dizzy...” I said. “You?”

”I’m fine,” the boy said. “I didn’t get roughed up that bad.”

I waited for my head to stop spinning before I sat up and looked around. We were in a prison cell straight out of a medieval dungeon: stone walls and floor, wooden benches instead of beds, and manacles hanging from the wall. The air was chilly and smelled damp, probably from the stream I could hear near us. Even though it wasn’t as small, it felt more oppressive than the Velvet Room had been. At least the inhabitants there made their intentions known, even if they were vague.

”This better not be a recurring thing,” I muttered.

”Hmm? What’s that?” the boy asked.

”Nothing important.” I examined the manacles. The inside of the cuffs were covered in a dark red residue that I hoped was rust. “Did you—“

Someone screamed.

Both my face and the boy’s paled. We rushed to the barred door and looked out. “What the fuck is going on out there?” His voice trembled as he spoke.

Whatever was going on wasn’t happening right outside our cell or the cells across from us. It must have come from up the stream running through the dungeon.

There was another blood-curdling scream.

”I-Is it just me or was that one closer?” the boy asked.

”I don’t know, but we shouldn’t stick around to find out,” I said, moving away from the door to search for holes or weak places in the walls. But everything felt sturdy. And I didn’t have my phone on me, so I couldn’t call the police.

The boy gave the door an experimental kick. It didn’t even shake. “Dammit!” he snarled. “No way out! What do we do?!”

“I don’t—“ I stopped and listened. Heavy footsteps were getting closer to where we were. It must’ve been the guards from before.

”Shit,” the boy hissed. “Sounds like there’s more than one. Any ideas?”

”We’ll talk to them,” I said. “There must be a misunderstanding. If we can clear it up, they’ll have to let us go.”

“Seriously?” The boy looked at me with furrowed brows. “They weren’t that interested in hearin’ us out before.”

”It could still work. They can’t just imprison people for no reason.” It was the logical thing. But then again, logic didn’t seem to apply to whatever was going on.

The guards stopped in front of our cell. One of them stepped up to the door. “Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon,” he said in that same distorted voice from earlier. “Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, your sentence is death.”

My heart plummeted to my stomach and a chill settled over my body. “W-Wait a min—“

”The hell?!” the boy yelled. “You’re gonna kill us for that?!”

”No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle,” a man spoke. The voice was distorted like the guard’s, but underneath that it sounded familiar. I knew I heard it somewhere before; I just couldn’t put my finger on where.

The speaker approached the door and I recognized him immediately. It was that teacher from before, the one in the car. He looked different, though. Instead of gym clothes, he wore a cape patterned with hearts of various shades of pink and purple and a white fur trim, along with a gold crown perched on his head. As he walked, the cape shifted enough to reveal that he was only wearing clogs and a pink speedo under it.

That detail made me feel uneasy all of the sudden.

”Kamoshida?” The boy gaped. “That really you? What’s with that get-up?”

Kamoshida sneered at him. “I heard a couple of petty thieves had snuck into my castle, but to think one of them was you, Sakamoto...” He snorted. “You just don’t know when to let things go, do you?”

”We weren’t trying to steal anything,” I protested. “We just got lost and ended up here, I swear. Please, let us go.”

”Oh? You brought a girl with you?” Kamoshida turned towards me. That was when I noticed that his eyes were different, too; they were bright yellow. “Trying to give yourself an ego-boost by showing off?” As he spoke, he gave me a once-over with a smirk. It suddenly felt like hundreds of centipedes were crawling all over my skin. I fought off the urge to cover myself.

”Hey! Would you quit looking at her like that, ya perv?!” Sakamoto shouted. “It's like she said! We ain’t thieves, so let us out already!”

Kamoshida snarled at him. “How dare you speak to me that way! Not only did you break into my castle, but you’ve committed the crime of insulting me, the King!” He waved a guard forward. “Open the cell. It’s time for an execution!”

Sakamoto retreated to the back of the cell muttering “shit” over and over like a mantra. I was pushed to the side and could only watch as they filed in. There was no way to slip past them even if I wanted to leave Sakamoto behind. And I couldn’t overpower them, either.

Was I really going to die here? Just for a bizarre stroke of bad luck?

One guard blocked the exit after Kamoshida strode into the cell. “Now, who to start—“

Sakamoto roared and charged into the nearest guard. It was enough to knock them over, but it also left him staggered. “I ain’t down for this!” he shouted. “C’mon! Let’s hurry—“

The guard by the exit slammed their shield into Sakamoto’s stomach. He crumpled to the ground with a wheezing gasp. Then the guard advanced towards him.

I grabbed the guard’s arm and dug my heels into the ground. But no matter how much I pulled, all I did was slow them down a little.

”Just go! Get outta here!” Sakamoto croaked.

My eyes glanced over at the exit. No one was blocking it. If I ran fast enough, I could escape and put this all behind me. But... then I would leave Sakamoto to his death.

In a moment of weakness, my foot slid towards the exit just a bit.

“Running away, are we?” Kamoshida jeered. “What a heartless girlfriend you are!”

”She ain’t my girlfriend,” Sakamoto growled weakly.

Kamoshida snorted. “Now that’s the only truthful-sounding thing you’ve said so far.” He kicked Sakamoto in the stomach and watched him cough and curl up with a grin. “As if garbage like you could get a woman of decent quality.”

Watching this abuse was enough to banish any thought of escape from my mind. ”Stop it!” I released the guard’s arm and put myself between Kamoshida and Sakamoto. “You’re a teacher, right?! You can’t treat your students like this!” Sure, he looked and acted different from before, but he was still a teacher. No matter how weird things got, he still had to follow rules. That was what I told myself, anyways.

”What? Haven’t you been listening?” Kamoshida asked, still smiling. He leaned in.

He was huge. It didn’t occur to me until he was towering over me. Even without the guards nearby, I wouldn’t be able to take him on my own.

”You have that same damn look in your eyes as Sakamoto,” he said. Then, like a snake striking its prey, he grabbed my bangs and yanked back. I cried out and scratched at his hand, but it did nothing.

”Now, let me make myself clear,” Kamoshida growled, ignoring my yelps and cries. He pulled more so my head was bent back uncomfortably and he could loom over me. “I’M the King of this castle. I can do whatever I want here. Slaves like you exist for MY pleasure.” He twisted his fingers and I whimpered. Distantly, I heard Sakamoto yelling something. “So you’d better fix that attitude of yours and learn your place soon.”

I couldn’t force any words past the lump in my throat. I was so small. An ant looking up at a boot.

Kamoshida let go of my hair before shoving me back. I fell onto my bottom and my back hit the wall. My scalp tingled painfully.

Two of the guards each grabbed Sakamoto by an arm and hauled him to his feet.

”Keep her there,” Kamoshida ordered the last guard. “After the peasant’s execution I’ll have my fun with her.” He shot me a grin that made me squirm. “Behave yourself and you might enjoy it, too.”

I stood up, but before I could go any further there was a sword pointed at my throat. The guard holding it watched me silently. 

Kamoshida turned back to Sakamoto and reeled his fist back. “Take this!” He slugged Sakamoto in the face.

I couldn’t do anything but clench my teeth and watch. I didn’t want to watch. This was awful.

”Worthless trash!” A blow to the stomach. Sakamoto gasped and tried to curl up, but the guards didn’t let him.

Horrible.

”Useless pest!” A flurry of blows. Sakamoto hung limply in the guard’s hold, coughing and groaning.

Vile.

The guards released Sakamoto and he dropped to the ground like a lead weight. His eye was swollen shut and blood dripped from his nose and a cut on his lip. Kamoshida, still wearing that bloodthirsty grin, loomed over his prone form.

I couldn’t watch anymore. I shut my eyes tight.

There was a chime and a warmth pressed on my eyelids. I let it coax my eyes open.

Most of the cell was now shrouded in darkness. The guards, Kamoshida, and Sakamoto were nowhere to be seen. And before me was an ethereal blue butterfly, the source of the warmth and light.

”This is truly an unjust game,” a young girl’s voice said. It seemed to be coming from the butterfly. And something about it was familiar. I knew I heard it somewhere before. “Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you...” The butterfly flew off and disappeared into the void.

I blinked and the rest of the cell was back. Kamoshida was still standing over Sakamoto.

”Hmph. Where’d your energy from earlier go?” He spat on Sakamoto’s head. “A peasant like you doesn’t deserve a beating.”

One of the guards grabbed Sakamoto by the collar and threw him against the wall across from me. He let out a soft cry as he hit the wall.

I clenched my fists. An unjust game... that was an accurate description. Sakamoto and I didn’t do anything wrong, but we were going to be punished for breaking rules we didn’t know about. All at the hands of a man on a power trip.

Sakamoto whimpered. “No... I don’t wanna die...” Kamoshida just laughed.

My nails dug into my palms and my limbs shook. This had to be stopped. There had to be a way to stop this. Someone had to stop this.

**“Then why are you hesitating?”**

My head jerked up. I looked around the cell, but there was no one else. It was a woman’s, deep and refined. It sounded close, too. Yet no one was reacting to it.

**"Have you given up? Are you forsaking that boy to save yourself?”**

The voice was coming from my head. It had somehow passed my ears and was now speaking in my head. And now that I thought about it... that voice sounded vaguely like my own.

**"Death awaits him if you do nothing."**

I looked back at Sakamoto. One of the guards was holding him against the wall by the neck. He clawed weakly at the hold. I knew what was going to happen, but what could I do? What if I made things worse?

**"Then what of your previous decision? Was it a mistake?"**

I remembered what people said to me after that night.

_"Damn bitch! I'll sue!"_

_"I didn't realize you were so violent, Shiori-chan."_

_"That's what you get for sticking your nose into adults' business."_

_"It's just the way the world is."_

I bit my lip. Could they be right? Was saving that woman a mistake?

The voice sounded like it was on the verge of laughing.  **"But I did not ask any of them, now did I? No need for mere words. Show me your true feelings!"**

My true feelings? No one’s asked me what I thought about that night. They only seemed interested in telling me that I did the wrong thing, that I wrecked my future with my reckless act. And I believed them enough to doubt myself. When I got charged with assault and put on probation, I just accepted that as a consequence of my actions. Not once did I question if it was right.

Now, I watched Sakamoto struggle. His face was paling under the bruises and blood. I remembered the woman’s face. Her wide eyes, the pleas for help flying from her mouth.

It wasn’t right. None of it was right. Sakamoto shouldn’t have been beaten, shouldn’t be killed, just because of bad luck. I shouldn’t have to endure whatever indignity Kamoshida had planned just because he had power. And I shouldn’t have been arrested just because I stood up to the wrong man. I didn’t do anything wrong. Sakamoto didn’t do anything wrong.

”Execute him!” Kamoshida ordered. The guard raised their sword.

It was people like Kamoshida that were wrong.

”That’s enough!” I shouted.

Kamoshida flinched like he’d been slapped. “What was that?” His voice dripped with malice.

The guard let go of Sakamoto. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Both guards and Kamoshida were watching me now. Kamoshida looked like he was trying to kill me with a look. “What did you just say to me?” He raised his voice and grabbed my bangs to look me in the eye. To remind me of how small I was compared to him.

Too bad for him. I was done being submissive. 

I glared back and shouted at the top of my lungs “I SAID THAT’S ENOUGH, YOU ROTTEN PERVERT!”

Whatever Kamoshida said next was drowned out by the voice chuckling.  **"Very well. I have heeded your resolve."**

Before I could process what that meant, my head throbbed. Something tiny like a kernel unfolded and stretched out. Each movement sent a fresh wave of agony through my head. The pain drowned out everything: the guards, Kamoshida, the cell. Even my screams.

**"Vow to me."**

The voice cut through it. I clung to it to keep from losing my mind.

**"I am thou. Thou art I."**

Whatever was in my head grew and grew. It took shape and stretched its rapidly growing limbs.

**"Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!"**

It pressed against the inside of my skull, but it didn’t stop. Through the haze an image of something bursting out of my head, pushing through flesh and bone like a fragile eggshell, popped up in my mind.

**"Call upon my name and release thy rage!"**

The voice reached a crescendo of vicious glee. The pain came to a peak as well, spilling out of my head and flooding my body. It writhed through my veins, boiled my blood.

**"Show the strength of will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!"**

The pain and pressure died down to a constant throb. Everything then came back into focus. My legs, so shaky and weak I would’ve collapsed if I wasn’t braced against the wall. My throat, as dry as a scorched desert. My eyes, blurry with tears as I opened them. My face, wet with sweat and tears, chilled by the dungeon air.

And with something else on it.

I lifted my head. The guard who had their sword pointed at me had been knocked to the ground and was scrabbling back to their feet. Kamoshida was staring at me with eyebrows knitted together. Sakamoto was still slumped to the ground, trying and falling to rise.

I raised my hands to my face and felt the planes and edges of a mask. It was smooth and fitted to the top half of my face.

The throb in my head increased. It was like someone tapping a finger while waiting.

My fingers dug under the mask’s edges and tugged, but it wouldn’t give; it pulled my skin each time. My blood roared with each tug as well until it became deafening. It pushed against my skin and bones, crying for freedom and retribution.

I remembered the sadistic joy Kamoshida took in beating Sakamoto. I remembered the drunken man dragging the struggling woman to his car. I remembered every person I had trusted turning their back on me when I needed them the most.

I tore the mask off along with half the skin on my face.

It was the worst pain in my life, even worse than what I felt before. My ripped flesh stung like a thousand insects biting all at once. And the throbbing in my head was worse than before. It split my head in two and continued down my body.

And then none of it — the pain, the blood dripping down my cheeks, the skin missing from half of my face — mattered. There was only me, that perverted bastard, and the force I just freed, ready to rip through him and his guards.

I fixed my gaze on Kamoshida and grinned for the first time in months while that force exploded from my body and covered me like fire without heat, burning away the blood and leaving skin behind.

The voice laughed. Or was it me? It wasn’t in my head anymore, and it wasn’t a separate entity. It was me. It had always been me. The part of me that pushed back against what others wanted. The part of me that couldn’t walk away when a man threatened a woman. The part of me that I’d repressed when my life fell apart. The part of me that I just let out of its cage.

”W-What are you all standing around for?!” Kamoshida’s voice wavered as he shouted at the guards. “Take her down! I order you!”

One guard sprung into action. They lunged forward and swung their sword down upon me.

I raised my arm to block. As I did, the flames split off and formed a clawed hand to catch the blade.

The rest of the flames lifted off me and formed the shape I saw in Shibuya days ago. Then they disappeared and left behind a woman.

Not a human one, though. She was tall, at least several meters taller than me. Her face was a flat black mask with a fiery orange grin and eyes emblazoned on it and a pair of long horns sprouting out, curving up, and twisting at the end. A pair of black feathered wings were folded up on the small of her back. She dressed mostly in bright red, from her blouse to her skirt to her shoes and gloves. The only items not red were a black corset and stockings and a white ascot. Her shoes had literal stilettos for heels and what I thought were claws were actually long golden nails.

 **"I am the rebel's soul which resides within you,"** she said. Her voice echoed in my head. **"I am the witch of shadows, Sonya!"** She wrenched the guard’s sword to the side and kicked them in the chest before tossing the weapon away.

The other two guards edged forward while Kamoshida shrunk back.

 **"Should you so desire it thus,"** Sonya said.  **"I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis."**

There were chains clenched in my hands. They connected back to her wrists and wings.

I turned to the guards and threw the chains away.

 **"Very well then."** Sonya's wings snapped open and the gust from them knocked the guards off their feet.

Kamoshida whimpered and crawled towards the doorway. Good. Let him know the fear and helplessness Sakamoto and I felt. It was the least he deserved.

”What’s the matter, your majesty?” I spat venom into those last two words. “Not so tough when your victim can fight back? You made a big mistake thinking I'd stay quiet.” I pointed at him. "Now you'll pay for everything you've done!"

He stood up but remained behind his guards, who clambered to their feet. “I don’t know what you are, but you’re going to regret standing against me!” He glared at me in spite of his obvious fear. “Guards! Get rid of this troublesome bitch!”

The guards shuddered, then black and red ooze gushed out of them like geysers. It took the form of three pumpkin-headed creatures with wide grins, glowing eyes, pointed hats, tiny capes, and iron lanterns.

”Now you’ll learn the true strength of my men!” Kamoshida sneered.

I bared my teeth in a vicious grin. “Go ahead and come at me!” I taunted. I wasn’t going to cower again. Not when I had Sonya on my side. Besides, these guys were now smaller and only armed with lanterns. How tough could they be?

The pumpkin monsters cackled and held up their lanterns. Jets of fire shot out of the lanterns.

I threw my arms up instinctively and waited for the inevitable burn (because how was I supposed to know that these things could shoot fire?). But while I felt the heat wash over me, it didn't eat into me. Instead, I felt a burn on my...

Wings?

Sonya's wings had curled in front of me. Once the torrent of fire stopped, they snapped back open to extinguish any flames left over.

 **"Do not let your will waver before this adversity,"** she said. " **Your enemies may be stronger now, but they are also more vulnerable. Swing your blade and slice them to pieces!"**

There was a weight in my hand; a knife with a long, straight blade. I gripped it and charged at the closest monster.

Like before, it held up the lantern and shot fire at me. But this time I was ready for it; I ducked under the flames and swung my knife up and through the monster. The blade cut through it as easily as butter and the monster dissolved with a screech.

I saw the other monster turn towards me and I jumped to the side on instinct just as it shot flames at me. The jump was farther than I intended. My body felt lighter, too. Was it because of Sonya?

The other monster flew through the fire and swung its lantern at me. I brought up my knife to block the attack. The force of the blow sent a shock wave through my body, but I stood firm and shoved back. Though it was off-balance, the monster flew out as I slashed, only getting nicked.

This thing was quick and could attack at a distance. It also seemed smart, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get the jump on it like the other one. How was I going to take it out?

Sonya chuckled and stood behind me.  **"If your blade will not reach it, then my curse will,"** she said.  **"Now, detest your adversary. Let that animosity become power and unleash it!"**

That was easy to do. The monster had hurt Sakamoto and would've killed us both without hesitation or remorse. It would do these things and more as long as Kamoshida gave it orders and would do it gladly. The hate twisted in my veins and stretched out of my body and into Sonya. It writhed under my skin like a snake shedding its skin. I imagined it pulling away from me and lunging at the monster. I thought of gnashing teeth, gleaming fangs, and an open mouth ready to sink into the creature's flesh.

"Ravage them!" I yelled.

Sonya dug her nails into the ground. And out of that spot came black and red tendrils shooting at the monster. Among them were long faces with mouths stretched open. Their howls filled the air. They impaled the monster before it could escape. It screamed and struggled to get out, but the tendrils held tight and tore it apart. All the pieces dissolved away until there was nothing left.

With all the monsters gone, I breathed out. My heart pounded in my chest and my lungs burned a little with every breath, but every part of me was a tightly coiled spring ready to pop and do it all over again. And it took the soreness in my cheeks to realize that I had been grinning the whole time. I never felt more alive before.

 **"You did well for your first battle."** I turned to Sonya. It may have been me, but her smile looked wider than before.  **"You have proven yourself worthy. From this day forward, this power of mine is yours. Use it as you wish! Run wild to your heart's content!"** Blue flames engulfed her and with one final cackle she vanished. But the weight of the mask on my face and the presence nestled in my mind proved she still existed. Not gone, but dormant. Waiting for the next fool she could sink her claws into.

"You goddamned bitch!"

I turned and saw Kamoshida prowling towards me, his face red with rage. Speaking of fools...

"Who do you think you--"

Before he could take another step forward or I could reach for my mask,  Sakamoto barreled into him and knocked him down. "How'd ya like that, asshole?!" he taunted. As Kamoshida groaned, Sakamoto bent down and snatched a ring of keys off the ground with a triumphant grin. "Yo! Look what I've got!"

"Great! Now let's go!" I waved him out of the cell as Kamoshida climbed to his feet. He rushed for the cell door, but Sakamoto and I closed and locked it first.

"You damn thieves!" Kamoshida roared, grabbing at the bars and tugging futilely at them. "You won't get away with this! Just wait until my men get here!"

"Like we'd stick around for that!" Sakamoto hurled the keys into the river before looking at me. "So what the hell was that thing back there?" he asked. "And what's with those weird clothes?"

I frowned. "Weird clothes?" I asked, pulling down on one of my gloves to adjust it. "What are you talking abou--"

Wait. Since when did I wear gloves?

I stared down at my hands, which now had red leather gloves on them. Then I inspected the rest of me. My uniform was gone and in its place was some dark clothing I'd never worn before; boots with a slight heel, leggings, a high-collared silk shirt, and a long leather tail coat with over sized cuffs and three tails in the back. "How did I change into this?!" I sputtered.

"You didn't even notice until now?!" Sakamoto yelled.

"I was fighting monsters! I had more important things on my--" There was a flash of blue flames and then the strange clothes were gone and my uniform was back. "Oh... I'm back to normal." I shook my head. "Anyways, we should get out of here."

"Right. This way!" Sakamoto and I ran down the pathway towards a bridge while Kamoshida yelled from his cell for his men to capture us. The bridge turned out to be broken, so we had to jump across.

"Any idea how to get out of this place?" Sakamoto asked once we made it to the other side.

"Look for stairs!"

"That ain't much of a plan!"

"It's the only one I got! I've never escaped a dungeon before!"

"I haven't either!"

"Then don't criticize my--"

Heavy footsteps echoed from around a corner. We dove behind some crates as a guard rounded the corner

"How'd they get here so fast?" Sakamoto hissed.

I shushed him, but it was a good question. This place was old, so there couldn't have been an alarm. And Kamoshida didn't have anything to call them.

Just what was this place?

The guard ran past our hiding spot. We waited until they were far enough away before getting up and moving again.

We went in the direction the guards came from. While it would mean running into more of them, it was our only way out. Anywhere else would get us trapped. But even with that plan, it was near impossible to find our way out. We found a spiral staircase going up, but after countless steps we opened the door at the end only to find more of the dungeon waiting for us. There didn't seem to be an end to this place no matter how much we ran.

Finally, we came to a dead end. The path we were running on ended with a wall and some cells to the side. The river cut off anyway to get to the other side of the area and the only bridge across it was raised with no way to lower it that I could see. The only thing by it was a stone bust of a grinning Kamoshida.

"Dammit! Now what do we do?!" Sakamoto panted. He was clutching his leg and leaning against the wall as we looked around for another way forward

"There has to be a way out," I said. "The guards were able go get through here and they'd have to get back through. There's got to be a way."

"But how?!" Sakamoto's gaze darted around. "I don't see--"

"Psst! Hey! You two!" A boyish-sounding voice called out from one of the cells nearby. "Blondie! Miss! Over here!"

Sakamoto and I went over to the cell the voice came from and looked inside. There wasn't anyone inside.

"Down here!"

We looked down.

The prisoner was a cat, maybe. They looked like a cat, at least, with black fur and white on their paws, the tufts in their ears, the tip of their tail, and the bottom of their face. But cats didn't walk on two legs or have heads almost as big as their bodies and brilliant blue eyes the size of saucers. Cats didn't wear a belt with pouches on it or a bandit mask covering half of their face or a yellow bandanna around their neck. And cats definitely didn't talk.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Sakamoto yelled.

The cat glared at him. "You shouldn't be so loud when you're escaping! And don't call me a thing!" Then they pointed to a ring of keys hanging by the door of the cell. "Anyways, you gotta let me out! Those keys should open this cell! Hurry!"

"Why should we let you out?" Sakamoto asked. "You could be working with that asshole Kamoshida!"

"I'm locked up in here, so how could I be your enemy?" the cat fired back. "Besides, do I look like one of the guards prowling around here?"

"Well--" Sakamoto began.

"I think they're telling the truth," I said. "If Kamoshida has control of this castle, he wouldn't need to rely on trickery."

"At least one of you has brains," the cat said. "You two are escaping, right? Let me out of here and I'll show you the way out!"

I grabbed the key ring. When Sakamoto raised an eyebrow at me, I shrugged. "We don't have many options right now," I said before getting to work unlocking the cell.

Once I got the door open the cat walked out and stretched with a happy sigh. "Freedom feels so good!"

"Alright, we let you out," Sakamoto said. "Now show us the exit, you monster cat!"

The cat bristled. "I am NOT a cat!" they snapped. "I am Morgana!"

"Shouldn't we be keeping our voices down?" I asked. "We're still in danger."

Morgana's ears drooped and they rubbed one of them sheepishly. "O-Of course! Follow me!" They darted to the drawbridge, then turned back to us. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

Sakamoto and I exchanged looks, but followed. "Dude, there's nothing to lower the bridge with," he said. "You sure you know where you're goin'?"

Morgana huffed. "As is to be expected from an amateur," they said. "Watch and learn!" Then they jumped up, grabbed, the bust's lower jaw, and pulled down with their weight. The bust's mouth stretched open and its eyes lit up. As that happened, there was the sound of gears turning and the bridge next to the bust lowered. Morgana looked back at us with smug triumph.

"H-How were we supposed to know how to do that?!" Sakamoto sputtered.

"It's just something you pick up on once you know how this place works," Morgana said haughtily. "Now let's keep moving! The guards are sure to have heard that!"

Sakamoto scowled, but there wasn't any time to argue. We followed Morgana across the bridge, down the pathway, and up a short flight of stairs. Despite their short legs, they were fast and I had to push myself to keep up with them. Judging by Sakamoto's labored breathing, he was having a hard time, too.

When we got up the stairs, however, he cried out in pain. I looked back and found him leaning against the wall. His face was scrunched up and he was squeezing his left thigh.

I stopped. "Are you hurt?" I asked. I had almost forgotten that he had taken a beating from Kamoshida and the guards. It must've been taking a toll on him.

"'s just my leg," Sakamoto said through gritted teeth. "Gimme a sec." 

"We can't stay here for too long," Morgana said, though he had stopped as well. "The guards will be looking for us."

"I know! I just need a sec, okay?!" Sakamoto snapped. After a moment, he stepped forward on his left leg experimentally and winced. "Okay, it ain't bad anymore. Let's--huh?" He stopped and stared into the cell in front of him. "Hey, that guy looks familiar."

I peered into the cell. Its prisoner was lying face-down on the ground, so I couldn't tell if there was anything significant about him. The only noticeable thing were his clothes; he wore a red gym uniform with Shujin's name emblazoned on it.

"Why are there other Shujin students here, too?" Sakamoto asked. "Did they get caught like us?"

"There would be a commotion about it if that was the case," I said. "Have you heard anything about this?"

"Well, no. But--"

"How long are you two going to keep wasting time?" Morgana asked. "We need to get moving soon if you want to escape!"

I glanced back at the prisoner. "What about him?"

Morgana shook their head. "There's nothing we can do for him. We can't afford to loiter around here too long."

"We can't just leave him here!" Sakamoto yelled. "Who knows what that prick Kamoshida will do to him!"

"We're trying to escape, remember?" Morgana snapped. "Besides, trying to bring that guy with is pointless. He's--"

"Intruders spotted! I need back-up here!"

I spun around. One of the guards had lowered the bridge and was charging at us. Two more appeared behind them.

"Oh, shit!" Sakamoto screamed. "Shit! They found us!"

"This is why I told you to move, you amateur!" Morgana leapt in front of us. They looked back over. "Can either of you fight?"

"I did before, but I don't know how to do it again," I said, but I ran up to join them anyways.

"Like this!" Morgana stood up and widened their stance. "Come, Zorro!"

Blue fire gathered around them and rose up, forming the shape of a person before dissipating. What was left was a giant of a man with a broad chest, arms as thick as my waist, and long, thin legs. He wore an old-fashioned navy suit along with heeled boots, gloves, a belt with a large silver Z-shaped buckle, and a cap fluttering behind him. A fedora covered half of his face until a pair of yellow eyes opened on it and he grinned behind a large, stylish mustache. He held a rapier in a fencer's stance as he faced the guards.

"You got one of those things, too?!" Sakamoto stared at the being with his mouth hanging open.

Morgana reached behind and pulled a curved saber from out of nowhere. They brandished it at the guards. "Last chance for you Shadows to run," they growled. "I'm not going to hold back!"

In response, the guards changed just like the ones I fought before. Two of them became the same pumpkin-headed monster while the remaining one turned into a fairy with magenta hair and a blue body suit.

Morgana snorted. "Looks like we'll be doing things the hard way, then," they said before pointing their sword at one of the pumpkin monsters. "Zorro! Take them down!"

Zorro slashed a "Z" through the air and a gust of wind tore through the monster. It screamed as the wind ripped it to shreds.

"Woah!" I breathed. "That went down quick!"

"You can admire my prowess later!" Morgana shouted. "You have to help me out! I can't take them all on my own!" They blocked the other pumpkin monster's lantern swing with their saber.

"B-But I don't know how!" I stammered.

Morgana tried to slash at the pumpkin monster, but it moved out of the way of his blade. "You heard a voice before using your powers, right? It's a part of you!" they shouted. "Find it within your heart, then take off the mask to--"

A bolt of lightning hit them before they could finish speaking. They cried out and collapsed onto the ground. Zorro disappeared in a flash.

The fairy hovered over Morgana's prone form, a malicious smile on her face. "This is for defying our great King Kamoshida!" she crowed, lightning sparking around her fingertips. "Now die, you dirty thieves!"

Without thinking, I sprung forward towards Morgana. As I did, I focused inward like they said. Nestled deep within me, something twisted like a serpent and raised its head when I called as instructed.

"Sonya!"

There was a flash of blue and I felt the mask on my face again. I braced myself for ripped flesh and pain as I reached up to tear it off, but it came off with ease and dissolved into flames quickly. Sonya took shape as the fairy fired another bolt of lightning at Morgana.

I ran through and scooped them up before the bolt could hit. Once that danger had passed, I put them down and focused my glare at the fairy. "Die," I growled.

Sonya didn't need more direction than that. She unleashed her curse upon the fairy, a torrent of wailing souls grasping at her limbs and pulling her in. No matter how much she screamed and struggled it was pointless; her body dissolved wherever the curse touched her until nothing was left.

That left the pumpkin monster. I was readying to take it down when Morgana stood up and shook them self off. "Let me handle this one," they said. "These Shadows can't handle my kind of attack." In a flash of blue, Zorro reappeared, slashed in the air, and the wind took out the monster like it did the other one.

Now that those things were gone, I glanced down at Morgana. "Are you sure you're fine? You went down pretty quick."

"I'll be fine. I just don't do well against lighting attacks," they said, brushing down a patch of fur. "Just as Shadows have weaknesses, so do Personas and anyone who wield them. Remember that if you ever have to fight them again."

"Personas? Is that what came out of you two all dramatic-like?" Sakamoto, who had been standing back during the fight, asked as he rejoined us.

"That's correct," Morgana said. "You saw how this girl took off a mask when she summoned hers, right? Everyone wears a mask deep within their heart. By removing it, that person allows their true self to emerge." They smiled. "But I don't have to do that since I'm so talented!"

"Says the guy who got taken down pretty quick," Sakamoto muttered.

"That was my weakness! Even experts face problems like that!" Morgana protested. He then turned to me. "Anyways, your Persona is pretty strong, rookie. And it's a good thing that Shadow was weak against your attack."

I adjusted my gloves. "Yeah. Let's hope we don't run into any mo--"

Wait.

I looked over myself. My clothes had changed again. "Again?!" I shrieked. And just like before, they disappeared in a flash of blue flames.

"Guess your power is still unstable," Morgana sighed. "We'll just have to avoid the guards as much as possible." They waved us forward. "Come on! We're getting close to the end of this dungeon!"

Sakamoto looked back at the prisoner in the cell. I didn't want to leave them either, but the past two fights had worn me out a bit. And Sakamoto was still injured from that beating. If we tried to carry someone out of here, we would definitely get caught. As much as I hated to do it, we'd have to leave them there. "We can come back for them later," I said.

Sakamoto huffed "Alright" and followed behind.

We went through the rest of the dungeon without any more incidents like that, staying out of sight of the guards. Once we reached the stairs leading up, Morgana stopped at a chest by the stairs to get what looked like smoke bombs. My bag and Sakamoto's was also in the chest. Sakamoto checked his phone, but there was still no signal. Mine still had that weird-looking eye pulsing on the screen. I'd have to figure that out later.

We crept up the stairs and into a hallway. It connected to the entrance hall Sakamoto and I got captured in.

"Alright! We're almost out!" Sakamoto quietly cheered. He started running towards the doors.

Morgana cut him off. "Where do you think you're going? There's going to be guards swarming around that door. You'll need a less conspicuous way out." They ran through the entrance hall to the hallway across from us, stopping at one of the doors to the left. "This looks like the right one."

We followed them into the room. "So we're going out a window or some--" Sakamoto said, then stopped when he saw the inside of the room. It was a reception room with plush chairs, a bookcase, and banners fluttering on the wall. And no windows at all. "What the fuck, cat?!" He yelled. "Were you tricking us this whole time?!"

"I'm NOT a cat, for the last time!" Morgana snapped. "And if you weren't a complete moron you'd know where the exit was!"

"Don't call me a moron!"

"Both of you stop!" I hissed. "We'll get caught again at this rate!" I scanned around the room. "There's a breeze here, so there has to be an opening somewhere..." I spotted a hole in the wall above the bookcase covered by a grate. "There! A ventilation shaft?"

Morgana nodded. "That's correct. You have good instincts for this."

"The hole looks big enough for us to fit through," Sakamoto said as he looked at the shaft opening. "Just gotta get that thing off." He took a couple steps back, then charged, jumped, grabbed the grate, and pulled back. It came off and the resulting "clang!" echoed way too much for my liking. "Crap, they probably heard that," he muttered as he got up. "We'd better go now." He climbed up the bookcase.

I followed after him, but Morgana didn't budge. "You're not coming with?" I asked.

They shook their head. "I still have business to take care of in this castle. You two should just go on ahead."

"If you say so," I gave them a small bow. "Thanks for your help. And good luck with whatever you're doing."

"And to you as well," Morgana said before heading back to the door.

Once Sakamoto was in the shaft, I climbed up the shelf. I took one last look back before crawling through; Morgana was at the door giving me a scrutinizing look. I wasn't sure what they were thinking, but I couldn't risk staying for too long with guards on their way so I left through the shaft.

There was a decent amount of space to crawl through. And once I got to the end, I was able to shift to a crouch and climb down from the shaft. Sakamoto and I edged towards the drawbridge leading into the castle while keeping an eye on the guards. Once we were close enough to it, the two of us sprinted across.

As we crossed, the surroundings stretched and warped like ripples disturbing a reflection in the water. Someone was shouting after us. One of the guards? I ran faster, pushing through one of the ripples and kept going to put as much distance between me and them.

"Hey! Where do you two think you're going?!"

That voice was too close. I whirled around, getting ready to try and summon Sonya again.

And I found two police officers watching me and Sakamoto, who panted next to me. Neither of the officers looked amused.

I blinked. The castle was nowhere to be seen. Sakamoto and I were in the middle of the sidewalk in Aoyama-Itchome with people milling about, a few stopping to watch what was going on.

"Are you two students at Shujin Academy?" the more disgruntled-looking officer asked. "Cutting classes, are we?"

"Wha-No!" Sakamoto shook his head. "We just ended up in this huge castle with these armored guys tryin' to kill us and--"

The officer sighed. "Hand over your bags. You'd better not be doing any drugs."

"We're not!" Sakamoto yelled in frustration, though he still handed his bag over. "We were tryin' to get to school, but this freakin' castle was there instead!"

"Nothing," the officer grunted to his partner while handing the bag back to Sakamoto. "He's just making up stories."

"Are you his friend?" The other officer asked. He looked friendlier than his partner.

"Somewhat...?" I said. My mind was still trying to process everything.

"Then you should take him back with you to school," the officer said patronizingly. "Move along now."

"But that castle could still be there!" Sakamoto protested. With how loud he was getting, more people were stopping to watch.

"We passed by Shujin on our way here," the officer explained slowly. "There was nothing out of the ordinary. Now both of you go back to school before we contact your guidance counselor."

"But--!"

I put my hand on Sakamoto's shoulder to stop him. "It's no use arguing. Let's just head back," I told him.

He looked like he wanted to argue, but when I started walking he let out a frustrated groan and stomped after me. "If we end up back at that castle..." he grumbled as we walked back the way we came.

"I don't think we will, if my hunch is right," I said. Then I looked over at him. "Hey, your bruises are gone."

Sakamoto stopped, then touched his eye where it had been swollen before. "Shit you're right," he said. "What the hell was up with that place?"

"I don't know," I said and we kept walking. Sakamoto still looked like he favored his right leg over his left. "Whatever happened, it didn't heal everything."

"Hmm? Oh, this..." Sakamoto shrugged. "I had this before we went in there."

"Oh..." I kept walking.

Just as I expected, Shujin Academy was at the end of the hallway. Sakamoto gaped at it. "Wha--how?!"

I started to pull out my phone. "I think--"

"So, you two thought it would be fine to skip classes."

A man I assumed to be the guidance counselor stood at the top of the stairs. He glared down at us with his arms crossed. "You're not convincing anyone that you're taking your probation seriously when you're this late for your first day of school, Amamiya," he said. "And Sakamoto, I see you're still intent on causing problems. Just where were you two?"

"A-A castle...?" Sakamoto stammered.

The guidance counselor grunted. "So you have no intention of telling the truth."

"It's the truth!" Sakamoto yelled.

"What's this about a castle?"

I froze at that familiar voice. Sakamoto also tensed.

Kamoshida joined the guidance counselor. He looked nothing like he did in the castle, but something about the way he stood there -- like he was surveying all that he owned -- looked too close to then for me to relax. "You're so carefree, Sakamoto," he said. "It's a big change from how you used to be at track practice."

"What? You're not gonna say anything about what you tried to do to us?" Sakamoto growled.

Kamoshida raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You just tried to have us killed, you asshole!"

"That's enough!" the guidance counselor snapped. "How dare you slander Kamoshida-san! Especially when he went easy on you after YOU acted up!"

"But he was the one who provoked me!" Sakamoto protested.

The guidance counselor was about to say more, but then Kamoshida put a hand on his shoulder. "Come now, I went a bit far, too," he said with a friendly smile. "Let's just say we were both at fault and leave it at that."

"Very well," the guidance counselor huffed, but he still glared at Sakamoto. "It doesn't change that you're incredibly late, though. You're coming with me." He turned his attention to me. "And you've kept Kawakami-san waiting for too long. Go see her and don't let this become a regular thing if you don't want to get kicked out."

Sakamoto's nostrils flared, but he didn't say anything. He just looked at me and whispered "Rooftop, after class" before following the guidance counselor up the stairs, pausing to give Kamoshida a look like he was trying to blow the man up through willpower alone. If it had any effect on Kamoshida, he didn't show it.

I sighed and trudged up the stairs as well, even though all I wanted to do was go to my bed, curl up, and sleep for a whole day. Running as much as I did had left my legs burning with each step. And with the adrenaline gone, there were other things I was beginning to notice like how all my limbs felt like they were tied to millstones or the persistent throbbing in my head. Regardless of how I felt, I couldn't bail out no matter how crappy I felt. I had to make it through.

But bailing was very tempting when I passed Kamoshida and his gaze locked on to me. "Have we met before?" he asked with a frown.

My throat went tight. Did he know? Was he just playing dumb? I managed to croak out "The train station. I was with a blonde girl."

His eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right! I remember now!" I fought back a sigh of relief while he smirked at me. "Too bad you didn't take up my offer of a ride, huh?"

I forced my head to nod so I could get inside and away from him. But as I moved past to go into Shujin he called out "I'll see you later." It was just an innocent phrase; he was a teacher, so of course we'd be seeing each other. But I couldn't help but hear that other Kamoshida's voice saying it and shuddered.

When I stepped into the school building, I saw the entrance hall of the castle for a moment. I had to close my eyes and count to three to banish that image. When I opened them, the entrance looked like it was supposed to. I continued on up the stairs to the faculty office, passing students milling about in the hall. As I passed them, I heard them murmuring to each other.

"...her. The one with a record..."

"...looks quiet, but I bet she'd lose it if you got on her bad..."

"...tried to claw off a guy's face! That's seriously messed..."

"...dating a biker gang member and does all sorts of things for..."

I could feel dozens of eyes on me. Several students I passed edged away from me not so subtly. They watched me the same way one would watch a feral cat.

It was a relief to duck into the faculty office after having that many eyes on me. Even Kawakami's scowl when she saw me was a step up. "How did you get here so late?" she asked. "It's almost lunchtime."

"I got lost," I told her.

Her lips pressed together into a thin line. "Well, you did just move here," she admitted. "Still, you're way too late! You couldn't have gotten that lost. Also..." Her scowl deepened. "I heard you arrived with that Sakamoto-kun."

"That Sakamoto-kun?" I asked.

Kawakami stood up. "Look, if you're serious about your probation, stay away from him. He's nothing but trouble." She sighed. "Although, he wasn't always like that when he was running track..." She shook her head and motioned for me to follow her.

We went down the hall, past students milling about, though any who caught sight of me stared and whispered like before. "It looks like someone spread word about your record," Kawakami commented. "I don't know how, but I didn't say anything." She groaned. "Why'd this have to happen in my class?"

"That must be real terrible, huh?" I muttered.

We stopped outside of class 2-D. "When you introduce yourself, don't say anything about why you were late, alright?" Kawakami asked.

I just nodded before stepping inside with her.

The classroom looked the same as the ones back at my old school, but the white walls gave it a sterile look. The whiteness was broken up by the huge windows on the right side of the room. The students were chattering when I opened the door, but fell silent when I followed Kawakami inside.

"Alright, everyone," Kawakami turned to the class. "As you've probably heard, we have a transfer student joining this class starting today. She wasn't able to come to school earlier due to illness, so please do your best to welcome her. I'll also need you to share your notes with her." She nodded to me. "Go ahead and introduce yourself."

I quickly wrote my name on the blackboard before turning back to the class. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Shiori Amamiya. I just moved to Tokyo." My words sounded too stiff, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. I bowed. "I hope we'll get along."

"Very good," Kawakami said. She scanned the room. "Let's see... your seat will be..." She pointed at an empty desk by the window. "...right over there."

I made my way to the desk past more whispering.

"I can't believe she got put in our class."

"She looks cute, but she'd probably rip my face off if I made a wrong move."

"Are we going to be safe?"

"Liar."

I stopped and looked over at the desk in front of mine. The blonde girl from before was sitting there and giving me an accusatory look. "You were at the station."

I felt more of my classmates' stares as I walked past her and sat down. They continued whispering loud enough for me to hear.

"What was that about? Did they have a cat fight?"

"Maybe they REALLY know each other."

"But isn't she dating Kamoshida-sensei?"

"Well, we are talking about Takamaki-san."

I tried looking out the window, but I caught a glimpse of Takamaki's face in the reflection. She had the same look I saw her with when she was in the car with Kamoshida, like she didn't want to be here. I couldn't blame her for that, if this was what every day at Shujin was going to be like.

"Alright, everyone. Settle down," Kawakami said. "Just a reminder, all classes after this one are canceled due to yesterday's accident. The normal schedule will resume tomorrow. Now, who is the class rep this week?"

A gloomy-faced boy covered in bruises stood up and led us through greeting the teacher. Once I sat down, I tuned out the ensuing lecture. My mind buzzed with questions I couldn't help dwelling on.

What was that castle? And why did it appear where the school was? I was positive that the weird app on my phone was responsible for what happened, but I didn't know what it did. Hypnosis? It all felt too real to have been a dream or a hallucination, though. And what about that other Kamoshida? He seemed separate from the one here, but he talked like he knew Sakamoto. Were they really two different people?

I didn't snap back to reality until Kawakami dismissed the class for the day. Takamaki was one of the first students to get up and head for the door. I was about to follow her when I remembered that I needed to borrow notes from one of my classmates to catch up. So I approached two girls chatting in the back. "Excuse me. Could you lend me--"

"Ah! Right!" One of the girls piped up too loudly. "There's somewhere we gotta be!" They retreated to the door.

I huffed. I couldn't be that scary. Maybe if I talked to someone else. A boy shouldn't feel as threatened. "Hello," I said to a boy up front. "Can I--"

"Sorry! Gotta go!" he squeaked before running out of the room.

My throat closed up. 'It's just three people,' I told myself. There had to be someone who wouldn't be threatened by my reputation. I tried a group of boys tucked into a corner of the room next. "Pardon me. Will one of--"

"Hey! Practice is starting soon, right?!" one of the boys said hurriedly. "We need to go now! Can't keep Kamoshida-sensei waiting!" He ushered the others out the door.

By this point, the rest of the class had figured out what I was trying to do and were either leaving the room or clustered together, probably hoping their numbers would deter me. When I went up to them anyways, they dispersed and went for the door, looking back at me like a victim would the monster behind them.

My chest clenched painfully and my eyes stung. I ran out of the room and searched for the bathroom before the water works got going. But it was too late; my eyes were blurry and my cheeks were damp when I stepped into the hall. I ducked my head to hide my face and the moment I spotted the girls' bathroom I walked as fast as I could until I was in a stall with the door securely locked.

Then I let out the sobs I was repressing.

It wasn't fair. I had come to peace with what I did. I now knew that it was right and that I wasn't the violent criminal everyone thought I was. So why did this still hurt so much?

I wasn't crying very loud; I managed to keep it down to sniffling hiccups. But it must've been enough for someone to hear because there was a timid knock on the stall door. "Hello? Are you alright?"

"Do I sound alright?" I asked hoarsely. My crying was subsiding, but my nose was dripping with snot. I grabbed some toilet paper, wadded it up, and blew.

"Here. This'll work better," the girl on the other side said. A hand poked under the stall door holding a pack of tissues.

"Thanks." I took the tissues and wiped my nose and eyes the best I could. Then I got up and opened the door.

The girl on the other side wasn't anyone from my class. She had a round face with her dark hair pulled back into a simple tail and soft brown eyes. When she saw me step out her eyes widened a little. "Oh! You're the transfer student. Amamiya, right?"

I sighed. "Yes, I am." I bent over the sink to splash water on my face. I was never a pretty crier and I knew my eyes were red and puffy right now.

"Umm..." the girl paused. I wanted to yell at her to get out already if that's what she wanted. "This may not be any of my business, but don't let those rumors get to you."

That... I didn't expect. I looked up at her, my face dripping wet. "Why are you telling me that?" I asked.

"I have a friend who's the subject of rumors, too," the girl said. "So I know how exaggerated they can get. And... well..." She gestured to the stall. "I don't think a hardened criminal would be crying in the bathroom."

I snorted, but that brought a hint of a smile to my face. "You were doing a good job cheering me up until you said that."

The girl smiled back hesitantly. "I was just pointing it out." She held out a hand. "By the way, my name is Shiho Suzui."

We shook hands. "I'm Shiori Amamiya. It's good to meet you." As we let go, I caught sight of the bandages wrapped around her wrist. "Did something happen to you?"

The smile dropped from Suzui's face and she looked down. Her eyes reminded me of my father's all the sudden. She rested a hand on the bandages. "Oh, this? It's from practice. It can get intense sometimes." She turned and walked to the door. "Speaking of which... I have to get going. Remember what I said, alright?"

I nodded and followed her out of the bathroom. I didn't get too far down the hallway before a familiar voice spoke up. "Hey, hold on a second." I turned and found Takamaki, who was with Suzui, walking up to me. She dug through her bag and held out a notebook. "It looked like no one gave you their notes, so here," she said. "Just give them back before class tomorrow, okay?"

"I will." I took the notebook. "Thank you."

Takamaki regarded me for a moment, then left with Suzui next to her. They talked as they walked and I noticed Suzui was smiling.

Now that I was feeling better and I had the notes, I was about to head for the school exit when I remembered Sakamoto was waiting for me on the rooftop. I looked between the stairs leading up and the ones leading down. Kawakami had told me to stay away and that he was trouble. And being seen around him wouldn't help the rumors already going on about me.

But after what we went through in the castle, I couldn't just go on ignoring him. I made it up to the stairs to the rooftop door. There was a sign on it that said it was off-limits, but the door wasn't locked so I just went through.

Even though it was off-limits, it looked like students still came up here. There were a few planters with flowers being grown in them along with a few school desks scattered around. Sakamoto was sitting at a cluster of desks, slouched back in one of the chairs and rocking it back and forth. "Hey, thought you weren't going to make it up here," he said.

"Because the teachers told me not to?" I asked.

He scowled. "Let me guess; Kawakami told you to stay away and gave a whole spiel about how I'll ruin your reputation?"

"She warned me, yeah." I went over and sat on one of the desks. "But considering what we went through, I'm opting to ignore that."

"Ya know, I'm not surprised," Sakamoto said with a grin. "Heard stuff about you and your record, too. But just so you know, I don't give a shit about the rumors."

I smiled at that. Even if Sakamoto's reputation was the main reason, it was good to have someone willing to be around me.

"So," Sakamoto continued. "That castle we were in. Do you think it was a dream? Every time I blink I keep seein' it. And the way Kamoshida acted there was a lot like here." His face darkened at that. "I mean, he doesn't go around killin' people... not that I know... but they're both full of themselves."

"I noticed that, too," I said. "And the guidance counselor looked ready to jump on you for badmouthing him."

"Everyone treats him like hot shit just because he took the volleyball team to nationals. Probably why that place felt crazy real." Sakamoto shook his head. "Whatever. It had to be a dream, right?"

"Maybe. Although..." I paused. If I focused hard enough, I could see Sonya grinning back at me and feel the beat of her wings against my face. Was that really proof of what happened, though? "...Never mind."

"Well, real or not, I gotta thank you for savin' me back there. You've got serious balls for a girl." Sakamoto stood up and held up a hand. "I think we'll get along just fine as troublemakers."

I high-fived him. "I'll see you around, then?"

"'course! You'd better not ignore me either, alright?" He headed for the door while waving. "I'll see ya tomorrow, then."

I waved back, then slid off the desk to follow. The school had to have contacted Sakura-san by this point and I wanted to get the inevitable confrontation over with. But I only took a few steps before my surroundings flipped again. I was on the roof of the castle, towers looming around me. Like before, I closed my eyes and counted before opening them again.

Dream or reality... whatever that place was, I had a feeling it wasn't going to be the last time I saw it. It looked like keeping my head down for a year wasn't going to be that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup; I'm using a different Persona instead of Arsene for Shiori.
> 
> Some stuff on Sonya:
> 
> * Sonya is named after Sofia Ivanovna Blyuvshtein, better known as Sonya Golden Hand, ringleader of the largest gang of thieves in St. Petersburg, the Red Jacks. She was equally known for her meticulously crafted schemes and her beauty, which she had no problems using to con men out of their money. At first, I was hesitant to use her since she seemed more femme fatale, which is Ann's thing. But the more I read about Sonya, the more I became convinced that she would be perfect for the starting Persona. For one, while she used her charms to get what she wanted, she also used her wits and dexterity to steal from others (she once paid a lawyer who defended her in court with an expensive watch... that she just lifted off of him). For another, despite her numerous crimes she was beloved by the common folk and they even hindered the police's attempts to capture her (likely because of the stories about her only stealing from the rich and even returning money she stole from a poor woman, which may have been later fabricated). And to this day, thieves travel to what they believe is her grave to ask for her blessing. Honestly, I can't fit everything awesome about this woman here. Check out her page at Rejected Princesses for more.
> 
> * When it came to designing what Sonya looked like, I wanted to keep a lot of elements of Arsene's design because this is still the protagonist's Persona and because a lot of the elements in Arsene's appearance worked with Sonya (she had very fine tastes and tended to spend most of her money on nice clothing and jewelry when not paying for her daughters' education in France and she was pretty brazen, having married multiple times and refusing to settle down). Plus, Arsene has a cool design. The changes I made were mostly to feminize the main design, but the most noteworthy are taking away the hat (because it didn't fit) and changing the nails/claws' color to gold to reference the "golden hand" part of her name and her prosthetic nails (she used them to hide jewels).
> 
> Sadly, my art skills suck, so I can't get across what I imagine she looks like. I might just pester my sister to do it.


End file.
